Calls for RCI mount as fingers point at Muhyiddin in the NFC debacle

Despite documented evidence of abuse, the Auditor General's report and the freeze on assets, officials at the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), seem to be stuck in a time warp, going about their daily shenanigans as if nothing is wrong and denying vehemently all allegations of misappropriation.
But instead of gaining credibility, the growing confusion over key transactions and conflicting accounts about what really happened have sparked calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry.
According to DAP's veteran politician and party stalwart, Lim Kit Siang, among those on the list of suspected culprits who have to be grilled on their role in the debacle was none other than Muhyiddin Yassin, the Agriculture Minister at the time when the NFC was formed and financed.

Muhyiddin approved the loan
Kit Siang pointed out that it was NFC executive director Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh, who is also the son of Women's minister Shahrizat Jalil, who on his own volition said that it was the then Agriculture Minister, who had approved the so-called draw-downs in 2007.

"The loan agreement between the Government, represented by the Finance Ministry, and National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd was signed on Dec 6, 2007, and not in 2010 as erroneously reported by some quarters," Izmir had said in a statement out on Tuesday.
"The first drawdown of RM7mil was in January 2008. This was in compliance with proper procedure."
The NFC statement was issued as a rebuttal to a claim made by the Public Accounts Committee last year that the loan had been disbursed in 2007 although it was only signed in 2010!
Izmir also explained that NFC's loan agreement with the government covers a period of 20 years, with repayment to commence early this year through annual instalments over 17 years at 2 percent per annum.

Who made the mess?
The confusion over when the loan agreement was signed - in 2007 or 2010 - is now the source of confusion, and forms the basis for the calls for  a public inquiry over the scandal.
As such, according to Kit Siang, the ""full and final responsibility" for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal should rest with Muhyiddin Yassin. A Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) and its "probe should also look into Muhyiddin's role and responsibility as the minister in charge," Kit Siang demanded.
"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," Kit Siang continued in a statement issued in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
"NFC not only failed to meet its target, the RM250 million 2 percent-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."
Kit Siang also called for the PAC's investigation report to be presented when Parliament convenes again on March 12.
"Malaysians are entitled to know why the PAC is behaving in so tardy a fashion, giving the impression that it is avoiding coming to grips with the issue," he said.

Malaysia Chronicle