Salleh: I want to make a comeback in NFC

National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC) executive chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail wants to make a comeback on the national feedlot project following his acquittal on four criminal breach of trust charges involving RM49.7 million.

"Yes, I strongly believe that I can make a comeback. This is a good project and I think we can still proceed," Salleh told Malaysiakini yesterday.

"If the government allows me to proceed (with feedlot project), I am looking forward to starting it again, but with a much improved version, because I have time to analyse what was not correct during the time when the project was given to us," he said.

The Natioanal Feedlot Centre, as designed by the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, had many weaknesses, Salleh said, adding: "But over the years, I was able to improve it."

Thus, he claimed, the company would be able to make 'a lot more' than the RM90 million profit per year before PKR and PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli made an issue out of nothing.

"I was earning RM40 million in 2011. If the governmemnt stuck to the original implementation agreement, I would be earning RM330 million annually by now and I will have a RM90 million profit," Salleh (on the right in photo) said.

With such a profit, he claimed, he would be able to repay the RM250 million soft loan from the government, since he only needed to pay RM17 million as loan instalment per year.

"Rafizi said I did not know what I was doing, but I have a PhD in food science, I was trained in agriculture and bio-chemistry," Salleh said.

The RM73.64 million scandal that hit the National Feedlot Centre was first brought to public attention after the Auditor-General's 2010 Report described as it "a mess".

In Nov 2014, the Finance Ministry said the government would revoke the contract with NFC and subsequently take legal action against the company for defaulted payments.

NFC had to repay its RM250 million soft loan from 2012 until 2028. However, the firm was only able to fork out a total RM34.98 million as repayment, in 2012 and 2013.

AG's Chambers withdrew charges

Salleh, who was slapped with two counts of criminal breach of trust and two counts of violation the Companies Act 1965 in March 2013, was acquitted yesterday after the Attorney-General's Chambers withdrew all the charges following a representation letter submitted by the defence counsel on Nov 4.

Salleh admitted he has no money to repay now, since he has lost his business.

"There should be a fresh negotiation on the project. I would have to sit down with the government. It should take into the consideration the fact that my assets and accounts were frozen over the five years," he said.

The husband of Umno Wanita chief Sharizat Abdul Jalil also expressed his disappointment with the government, which he said acted out of panic by freezing his assets and accounts without checking the facts and details when the allegations against NFC ran wild.

"I was lucky because the judge saw this," Salleh said after his acquittal.

"My wife suffered a lot in the course of the slander done by PKR and Rafizi. She had to leave the cabinet. My children suffered a lot, but we as family stayed intact, we pray to Allah and Allah has been kind to us," he said.

Sharizat's position as senator was not extended amid the NFC scandal. As a result, she was dropped as women, family and community development minister. -Mkini