Speech by Lim Kit Siang at the Perak Pakatan Rakyat Chinese New Year Open House at Kopisan Baru, Gopeng on Saturday, 28^th January 2012 at 9 pm: 

New Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya will establish RCI into the RM336.64 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was very quick and abrupt yesterday in rejecting my call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM336.64 million National Feedlot Centre (NFC)/National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) “cattle condo” scandal, eager to pronounce the idea as “dead as a dodo”.

Malaysians everywhere are asking who is Muhyiddin to reject the call for a RCI into the “cattle condo” scandal when Muhyiddin himself, as the Agriculture and Agro-based Minister who approved the controversial project back in 2006, would himself be one of the subjects and personalities of any RCI investigation?

It smacks of conflict of interest on Muhyiddin’s part and he should exclude himself from any decision-making as to whether there should be a RCI into the cattle condo scandal, instead of being so gung-ho in opposing the proposal.

It is downright disgraceful that the RM336.64 cattle condo scandal had dragged out publicly for three months like a soap opera without any satisfactory conclusion – which is a most telling indictment of the lack of political will of the Najib administration to declare effective and meaningful war on corruption and be an example of an open, accountable and transparent governance as promised in the 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme (GTP).

If the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak is unable to satisfactorily handle the RM336.64 million cattle condo scandal after three months, who believe that he has the political will to lead an all-out war against corruption which cost the country RM28 billion a year or address the problem of over a trillion-ringgit outflow of illicit capital overseas in a decade from 2000 to 2009 because of corruption and other financial malpractices?

The 13th General Elections is around the corner. Let Malaysians regardless of race, religion or political affiliation speak loud and clear at the forthcoming polls that they want a Royal Commission of Inquiry to reveal the full details of the true horror stories of the RM336.64 million “cattle condo” scandal despite the obstructionist and cover-up conspiracy of the UMNO/Barisan Nasional.

Muhyiddin had claimed that there is no need for an RCI as on-going investigations by the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) into the “cattle condo” scandal are sufficient.

Muhyiddin should stop kidding himself as if he does not know that the general Malaysian public have no confidence whatsoever in the independence, integrity and professionalism of either the police or MACC to carry out a no-holds-barred investigation, because these agencies have been too compromised by executive interferences and directions.

Before coming on to the stage, I have discussed with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and he has agreed that a new Pakatan Rakyat government in Putrajaya after the 13th General Elections will establish a RCI into the RM336.64 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal if there is still no satisfactory accountability of the controversy.

Let this serve as a clear notice to Muhyiddin that he had can say “No” but it is the Malaysian people as a whole who will decide whether there is to be a RCI into the “cattle condo” scandal come the next general elections!

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader & MP for Ipoh Timor