KUALA LUMPUR: Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Salahuddin Ayub said he is in the dark over rumours that the ministry’s secretary-general has been suspended.
This comes after a leader from Amanah, the party Salahuddin belongs to, accused the secretary-general of sabotaging the minister.
Speaking to reporters after an event here, Salahuddin said he had no knowledge on the secretary-general’s position or whether action had been taken against the senior government official.
“That one you have to ask the KSN (chief secretary to the government), I don’t have any information on that,” he said after officiating the Kongres Benih Asia 2019.
He also declined to elaborate on the secretary-general’s absence from the event.
Yesterday, an Amanah leader claimed the secretary-general had sabotaged Salahuddin by carrying out an RM1.4 billion padi tender without the minister’s knowledge.
Salahuddin has come under fire after he admitted writing to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the tender be given to the National Farmers Organisation (Nafas).
He has maintained that there was nothing wrong in writing the recommendation letter because the tender had not been finalised and it would benefit the thousands of Nafas members, and not to enrich himself.
Today, Salahuddin declined to talk on the sabotage claim, saying he would leave it to the accusing party to comment.
He also denied that the tender issue was a “scandal” as claimed by the opposition.
“(MCA president) Wee Ka Siong can raise it in Parliament, he has his role as an opposition member but I have explained what has happened is still within the confines of existing procedures and it is not a scandal.
“Where is the RM1.4 billion? It is still in the treasury and we are confident it will be given to Nafas. That’s all, it’s not a scandal. Scandals are like Tabung Haji, Felda Global Ventures, 1MDB, where the money goes into personal accounts.”
He said investigations could be launched if it was indeed a scandal.
“There is no wrongdoing, nothing has happened. It is their (opposition’s) words that this is a scandal, we don’t have scandals,” he said. - FMT
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