NFC loan: Who lied la? Haji Najib, Menteri or CCM?

PM lied about NFC loan, says PKR

UPDATED @ 03:10:05 PM 08-11-2011

By Yow Hong Chieh

November 08, 2011

File photo of the National Feedlot Centre.

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — PKR claims the prime minister lied when he said not all of the RM250 million government loan to the controversial National Feedlot Centre (NFC) had been disbursed.

 

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said in a written reply to Parliament last Tuesday that only RM181.9 million from the total had been channelled to NFC as at July 31 this year.

But PKR alleged today that the cattle feedlot’s financial records showed that NFC had drawn down RM250 million by March 31, 2009 in two instalments.

Party strategic director Rafizi Ramli said that according to statements filed with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, NFC’s non-current liabilities amounted to RM256 million as at December 31, 2009.

This comprised RM250 million in federal loans and RM6 million in government grants.

“This proves that the prime minister and the agriculture and agro-business minister lied to the Dewan Rakyat and the whole country to protect Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil and her family,” he told reporters in the Parliament lobby here.

Shahrizat’s husband, Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, is the chairman of NFC, while her daughter, Izzana Salleh, is the executive director in charge of marketing and operations.

Rafizi also pointed out that NFC earned RM666,952.96 in interest on fixed deposit savings in 2009, which was only possible if its savings ran into hundreds of millions of ringgit.

“In fact, the earnings... are equal to 23 per cent of revenue from cattle sales, as though NFC were an investment company and not a cattle-breeding operation,” he said.

Rafizi also questioned if Putrajaya would erase NFC’s debt to the government given that the feedlot project had yet to turn a profit since it began operations in 2008.

This was because NFC’s average cost to import, raise and slaughter one cow in 2009 was RM4,481 versus RM2,500 per cow usually, he said.

“For the financial years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2009, NFC incurred a loss of RM7 million and RM11 million,” he said.

“If this goes on, the federal government may have no choice but to erase the RM250 million loan given to NFC, as it did for Perwaja and other companies,” he added.

The Auditor-General’s Report released last month had criticised the NFC, pointing out that it was now “in a mess”.

The report said production in 2010 was only 3,289 head of cattle or 41.1 per cent of the target set.