SHAHRIZAT BACK TO CONTEST THE LEMBAH PANTAI SEAT.WHITEWASHING NONG CHIK

This is fantastic news! Can we please have Shahrizat back to contest the Lembah Pantai seat. We have really missed her.

“The way they investigated it is as if they were merely trying to find a reason to let Shahrizat go. What the MACC needs to prove is that there was no influence whatsoever from Shahrizat that allowed her family to get the contract although they had absolutely zero experience in cattle-farming.”–Rafizi Ramli

The Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) was accused today ofwhitewashing Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil’s National Feedlot Centre (NFC) graft investigation , with PKR’s Rafizi Ramli pointing out that he had not even been questioned by investigators despite being responsible for most of the allegations against the Minister and her family.

Rafizi, the man who led a relentless campaign to expose alleged misappropriation of public funds in the management of NFC, pointed out that he had been the one leading the series of exposes on the NFC since the RM250 million federally-funded cattle funding project hit media headlines late last year.

“Seeing as I was the one who exposed all these issues in the NFC, one has to wonder – why have I not been called in to see the MACC when I have been the loudest in this issue?” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted this afternoon.

Rafizi said that to completely clear Shahrizat’s name, the MACC must now explain why the RM250 million project had been awarded to a company owned by the Wanita UMNO chief’s family members, even though it has zero experience in farming.

He said it was too simplistic to clear Shahrizat just because she had not been directly involved in awarding the contract, saying it was obvious that the former Minister would not have been “so stupid” to sit on the tender committee that decided on the award.

“The way they investigated it is as if they were merely trying to find a reason to let Shahrizat go.What the MACC needs to prove is that there was no influence whatsoever from Shahrizat that allowed her family to get the contract although they had absolutely zero experience in cattle-farming,” he said.

Earlier today, MACC Operations Evaluation Panel (PPO) chairman Tan Sri Datuk Hadenan Abdul Jalil (not related to Shahrizat) revealed that Shahrizat has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the RM250 million NFC scandal, which has been dominating media headlines for months since last year.

Hadenen told reporters the MACC has declared investigations into Shahrizat’sinvolvement closed after finding that the former Minister had not been directly involved in the process of awarding the loan to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), a company where her husband and children sit as directors.

“The decision to award the contract to the company and to award the loan does not involve her,” he had said.

With the MACC’s decision on Shahrizat, Rafizi said the onus was now on the agency to explain to the public its reason for not taking any further action against the tender committee that had selected the NFCorp to lead the federally-funded cattle farming project.

The committee, pointed out Rafizi, had been chaired by Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the time, and had included then Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is currently Deputy Prime Minister.

“There were six bidders for the project and of all, only one had some experience in farming. The NFCorp, was clearly only set up recently and was not fit to run the project,” he said.

“So the fact that the tender committee chaired by Najib went ahead to award the project to Shahrizat’s family clearly indicates an element of corruption… otherwise, it would be quite difficult to fathom why Najib and the committee was so stupid as to award the project of this magnitude to a company with no experience,” he added.

As such, said Rafizi, it was only “logical” to find the link between the committee and the company in question in order to determine if any corruption was involved in the contract award.

“And the only link between the selected company and Najib and Muhyiddin was Shahrizat,” he said.

Shahrizat, who is the wife of NFCorp chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, had been linked to the scandal by PKR because of her husband’s position, and their three children’s directorships in the same firm.

The former Women, Family and Community Development Minister had been questioned by the graft watchdog earlier in February after returning to her ministerial duties.

She had earlier taken three weeks’ leave to allow authorities to investigate claims of abuse of power against both her and her family.

Shahrizat stepped down as Minister after her double-term as senator expired on April 8.

The RM250 million publicly-funded cattle-raising scheme was first coined a “mess” in an article in English daily The Star after it made it into the pages of the Attorney-General’s 2010 Report for failing to meet production targets.

The term was later repeated by other media organisations to describe NFCorp after PKR launched a series of exposés to show that the project’s funds had been allegedly abused.

The company’s assets were frozen after investigations were launched by the Police and the MACC following the revelations.

Shahrizat’s husband, Dr.Mohamed Salleh Ismail was charged with criminal breach of trust and violating the Companies Act in relation to RM49 million in federal funds given to NFCorp last March 12.

The 64-year-old was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code relating to CBT for misappropriating RM9,758,140 from NFCorp’s funds to purchase two condominium units at the One Menerung complex in Bangsar for the National Meat and Livestock Corporation (NMLC) on December 1 and December 4, 2009.

He was also charged under the same section for transferring RM40 million of NFCorp’s funds to the NMLC between May 6 and November 16, 2009.

He was further charged in both cases for using the said funds without any approval from company’s annual general meeting, which is an offence under Section 132 of the Companies Act 1965. If found guilty, he faces between two and 20 years’ imprisonment, whipping, and a fine for the offences under the Penal Code.

Dr. Mohamad Salleh also faces a five-year jail term or RM30,000 fine for the charges proffered under the Companies Act.

He pleaded not guilty to the CBT charge as well as two counts under the Companies Act in the scandal that has opened Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to damaging attacks ahead of elections that must be called by March next year.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has admitted receiving donations amounting between RM2,000 and RM3,000 on an annual basis from Federal Territories and Urban Well Being Minister, Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin. Anbalagan was responding to allegations made by

Raja Petra Kamarudin on his Malaysia Today website today.  I

The blogger claims it was done to discredit and oust Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.

KUALA LUMPUR: Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) claimed today that Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin had a “hidden hand” in the leakingof evidence on the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.

The Malaysia Today webmaster alleged it was done to discredit and oust Shahrizat Abdul Jalil so he (Raja Nong Chik) could contest for the Lembah Pantai seat, a constituency he had coveted in the 2008 general election.

“How did the opposition come into possession of the evidence against Shahrizat?

“Everyone in Umno knows it was Raja Nong Chik who is the dalang (hidden hand). And he leaked the evidence to the opposition so that Shahrizat can be ousted from Lembah Pantai and then he would beable to contest that seat,” Raja Petra said in his latest posting.

The Selangor prince claimed Shahrizat’s statement – that there are hidden hands to bring her down – just after she returned from Mecca during her long leave supports his allegation.

Shahrizat did not state if the hidden hands came from within her own party Umno, but Raja Petra believed the statement referred to the internal workings of those in the ruling Malay party.

He also claimed the admission by PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli, the leading man in the NFC exposé, that he had obtained information from whistleblowers supported his theory.

In an interview with an online news portal yesterday, Rafizi said the exposé often come through anonymous e-mails, indicating that they were sent by persons with vast information on NFC’s financialactivities.

Raja Petra said he believed those behind the e-mails work for “handlers” which, in this case, is Raja Nong Chik.

“Rafizi does not know that sometimes whistleblowers or deep throats have ‘handlers’. And I should know. I do this kind of thing for a living”.

Nurul Izzah is next

With Shahrizat facing growing calls to quit, this would pave the way for a straight battle between Raja Nong Chik and Lembah Pantai incumbent Nurul Izzah Anwar, said Raja Petra.

The Malaysia Today webmaster claimed it was Raja Nong Chik’s men who helped gave Nurul Izzah the Malay support she needed to win the seat in the 2008 election.

Ousting the Wanita Umno chief meant it would be easier for Raja Nong Chik to take on the daughter of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim as Malay support for Umno will no longer be split.

“With Shahrizat out of the way, Raja Nong Chik has a clear field to bring down Nurul Izzah. With Shahrizat still around, Nurul Izzah would be more secure (because even Umno people will support Nurul Izzah rather than Shahrizat).

“Hence, Shahrizat’s downfall does not augur well for Nurul Izzah. The Umno people will return to Umno if the choice is Nurul Izzah or Raja Nong Chik,” said RPK.

Recent by-elections’ data and surveys have shown significant return of Malay support towards Umno and Barisan Nasional after 2008.

Many of the Malay votes went to the opposition then in what Umno leaders claimed was a protest move against the party’s previous leadership and discounted the idea that Malay support had swung to the other side.

Raja Petra also claimed that Nurul Izzah will be facing an uphill task in defending her seat against Raja Nong Chik given the latter’s financial muscle.

From the recently announced housing loan schemes for the poor to private financial backer, construction tycoon Lim Kang Hoo, Raja Petra said Raja Nong Chik had splashed around millions aimed at wooing Lembah Pantai voters.

Lim is a close business partner to Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman. Raja Petra said he will expose the connection between Raja Nong Chik and Lim in a revelation “that would make the Cowgate (NFC) scandal looks like child’s play”.

Mustafar Ali reveals the case has been classified under Section 23 of MACC Act for abuse of power, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will soon submit its investigation papers on the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) fiasco to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for any further action.The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had not exonerated the Wanita Umno chief while the latter herself had failed to rebut any of the many allegations made against her since the scandal hit media headlines.

Who could have? Obviously those who benefited from “coalition compulsions” – principally the leaders of the umno and the M.C.A. That they did not stop  Shahrizat is why UMNO stands exposed today as the most dysfunctional and tainted government in independent Malaysia history.National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal would not have occurred in the first place without powerful patrons guaranteeing her protection from the consequences of her malfeasance. Since the malfeasance was evident as early as September 2007  official government documentation – now in the public domain – it carried great risk of exposure. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s protectors were therefore obviously playing for very high stakes. The genesis of many of the scams in UMNO Scorpene submarines ,National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal– lies here. Need and greed have a nodding acquaintance with each other. Funds are fungible. Those designated for a party’s electoral needs and those which, through greed, flow into individual bank accounts are difficult to separate.

PKR’s Rafizi Ramli today demanded Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil prove she was not involved with the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) operations, saying it was a matter of utmost public interest.

The PKR chief strategist charged that the Wanita Umno chief had not once refuted PKR’s allegations with concrete proof, and that her response so far had merely been “jokes” and jibes aimed at her detractors.

Rafizi (picture) was referring to Shahrizat’s latest comments on the issue yesterday, where she said she will send the Wanita Umno wing’s trademark red-and-white baju kurung to her “stalker” in PKR, whom she joked wanted to assume her post.

In an apparent reference to Rafizi, who has led PKR’s attacks on Shahrizat and the NFCorp, the federal minister said the idea had been mooted by Perak Wanita Umno at a recent meeting.

“She has not provided proof that she was not at all involved in the decision making that awarded the contract to become integrator to her family’s company, nor has she proven that she was not at all involved with the operations of NFC,” Rafizi said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider.

The PKR leader said that Shahrizat would be “guilty by association” if she was aware that federal funds meant for the cattle project were used for “other purposes” and did not the matter to the relevant ministry.

“If our scrutiny of her conduct she deems as a personal attack against her or Wanita Umno, clearly she does not understand the weight of accountability that she assumes as a senior minister.

“I will continue to dig for evidence of misappropriation and her complicity in such misappropriation no matter how many baju kurungs she wants to send me, because no prior scandal involving a minister’s complicity in a financial misconduct receives such interest from the public,” added Rafizi.

Shahrizat has been repeatedly linked to NFCorp because of her husband’s role as company chairman, and their children’s directorships in the same entity.

The RM250 million publicly-funded cattle-raising scheme was first coined a “mess” in an article in English daily The Star after it made it into the pages of the Attorney-General’s 2010 Report for badly missing production targets.

The term was later repeated by various media organisations to describe NFCorp after PKR launched a series of exposés to show that the project’s funds had been allegedly abused.

PKR, led by strategic director Rafizi, had claimed that RM27 million was used for land and property purchases as well as expenses unrelated to cattle farming by Shahrizat and her family.

The company’s assets were frozen after investigations were launched by the police and the national anti-graft body following the exposés.

Shahrizat returns to ministerial duties today after taking three weeks’ leave to allow the authorities to complete their probe.

Cheras Umno division head Syed Ali Alhabshee today accused Wanita Umno chief
Shahrizat Abdul Jalil of using the party’s women’s wing as a ‘shield’ from
the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) controversy.In a the Cheras Umno blog today, Syed Ali said Shahrizat must ask if she was
sincere in pursuing Umno’s struggle or was she more interested in
safeguarding her government position.

“Why is it so difficult to resign as a minister? There is no need to go on
leave or blame others that supposedly there is an agenda to bring her down.

“Do not fabricate stories that people want to bring her down, the reality is
she should not use Umno Wanita as a shield to to protect her weakness and
mess,” Syed Ali (right) was quoted as saying.

The shield remark might be a reference to how Shahrizat often claim that her
opponents were attacking her to undermine the 1 million strong Wanita Umno
wing.Shahrizat, the current Women, Family and Community Development Minister, is
being linked with the NFC fiasco because her family was awarded the project
back in 2007.

‘People will judge Umno’

However, the Auditor-General’s Report 2010 said that all is not well with
the company which is missing its cattle production targets.

Critics also point to the fact that the NFC had mishandled part of a RM250
million government soft loan on luxury properties.

According Syed Ali, Shahrizat’s refusal to resign is reflecting badly on
Umno.

“Until when will we walk the talk, Umno says it opposes all forms of
corruption, the rakyat is observing the government’s sincerity,” he said.

The comments come two days after Shahrizat returned from overseas and
immediately declaring that she would not step down.

She is expected to return to her ministerial studies on Wednesday after
going on three weeks leave to facilitate the investigation into NFC.
____

 Even as her three-week leave from the cabinet ends today, Women, Family and Community Development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has found herself at the receiving end of another attack, this time by a familiar foe who she replaced.
Shahrizat’s predecessor in Wanita UMNO, its former head Rafidah Aziz, launched a vitriolic attack on her, literally telling Shahrizat, who has been at the centre of the scandal involving the government-aided National Feedlot Corporation managed by her family members, to “move out”.Speaking to UMNO-linked daily Malay Mail, Rafidah did not mince her words when urging Shahrizat to resign, echoing a call by their former boss Dr Mahathir Mohamad and other UMNO leaders.

“If you are a problem to the party and government, please move out! That’s it (for) everyone, whether it’s got to do with cows or anything (else). That’s the most matured way of dealing with your problems,” said Rafidah.

Rafidah also took issue with Shahrizat’s three week leave, which the latter said was to allow a probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency into claims that she and her family members misused RM200 million government cash for their cattle-rearing company.

“Why are you so hung up about the three-week decision (to take a break)? You’re missing the point!

“The point is: damn it, decide, don’t leave it (the decision to go) to the prime minister. Don’t leave the onus on the prime minister to decide for you,” said Rafidah, removing all brakes in her criticism of the person to whom she lost in an intense campaign to win the Wanita UMNO chief election in 2009.

‘AP and NFCorp not the same’

Besides Shahrizat’s husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail, their children are also part of the top management of NFCorp. Sons Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh and Wan Shahinur Izran are executive director and chief executive officer respectively, while daughter Wan Izzanah Fatimah is director, all of whom had been accused of drawing fat monthly salaries against a backdrop of financial abuses.According to Rafidah, the scandal has effectively taken Shahrizat off the list of prime minister Najib Razak’s so-called “winnable candidates” to represent BN in the coming polls.

“Whoever is in the wrong, please do the needful. But do not use the same brush stroke to tarnish the government. That’s why I say if you’re a bother to the government, you are a liability to the government and to the party, (and should) make the decision to move away,” she added.

The former International Trade and Industry minister, who herself was once embroiled in the controversy surrounding the abuse of Approved Permit (APs), however was quick to squash any attempt to equate it with the NFCorp issue.

“There was no evidence and there was no link to any family member. You think I’m not a God-fearing woman and do all these things? It’s a sin, you know!” she exclaimed.

Meantime, whether or not Rafidah’s outburst is a signal of her return to helm the troubled Wanita UMNO movement, is something political analysts will be eagerly following.