Media conference statement by Lim Kit Siang in Sibu on Tuesday, 17^th January 2012: 

National Feedlot Corporation has given two powerful reasons why there should be a RCI into the “cattle condo” scandal

The National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) has today given two powerful reasons why there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM300 million “cattle condo” scandal, focussing on the role and responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who was the Agriculture Minister who approved the RM250 million loan project before the “308” political tsunami.

The company declared today that its contract for its RM250 million loan from the government was signed in 2007, disputing the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) earlier claim that the company had received the sum before the contract was signed.

NFC said the loan agreement between the government represented by the Ministry of Finance and NFC was signed on December 6, 2007, and not in 2010 and that the first drawdown of RM7 million was in January 2008 “in compliance with proper procedure”.

It claimed that beginning this year, NFC “will start serving its loan repayment as stipulated in its loan agreement”.

The NFC statement, confirming that the decisive events of the “cattle condo” scandal, viz, the award of the NFC project on 27th October 2006, the signing of the RM250 million loan agreement with 2% interest on December 6, 2007 and the first drawdown of RM7 million in January 2008 all took place before the March 8 “political tsunami” when the Minister responsible was none other than Muhyiddin.

It provides powerful reason why there should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry into all the “horror stories” of the RM300 million NFC “cattle condo” scandal but also to focus on the role and responsibility of Muhyiddin as the Cabinet Minister who should personally and directly be responsible for the scandal.

Let the RCI answer the question: Who else apart from Muhyiddin should bear the full and final responsibility for the NFC “mess” where the objective of the project on cattle production to boost the nation’s beef self-sufficiency could go so wrong as NFC not only failed to meet this target, the RM250 million 2%-interest soft loan had been diverted not only to buy two luxury condominiums in Bangsar and a luxury condominium in Singapore but also for many other dubious transactions.

The NFC statement today also reminds Malaysians that the Public Accounts Committee has been acting in a most unusual manner, as apart from its initial meeting, it had failed to carry out full investigations into the “cattle condo” scandal to be able to present a report to Parliament when it meets on March 12 – although it is the No.1 scandal of the day!

Malaysians are entitled to know why the PAC is behaving in so tardy a fashion, giving the impression that the PAC is avoiding from coming to grips with the issue. Can PAC submit its report on the NFC scandal to Parliament by March 12?

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