S'pore doesn't allow raw meats, NFC told
Published: Mar 1, 2012 5:09 PM | Updated: Mar 1, 2012 5:29 PM
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today said that the embattled National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) may be “putting the cart before the cow” as it has not obtained Singapore’s approval to export beef there.
A check with Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority found that Malaysia cannot export raw beef to the republic, says the PJ Utara MP.
Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua today said that the embattled National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) may be “putting the cart before the cow” as it has not obtained Singapore’s approval to export beef there.
In a statement, Pua said a check with Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) found that Malaysia cannot export raw beef to the island republic.
“At this point... only ‘processed beef’ such as sausages, patties, meatballs, smoked meat, etc, are approved for selected companies,” he said.
He added that even so, checks on the AVA website, updated Feb 17 this year, found that only five Malaysian companies were approved to export beef products to Singapore, and they do not include NFC.
“Hence how can (NFC chairperson) Mohamad Salleh Ismail claim that the setting-up of Farmhouse Supermarket, which is already about to open for business, be in the interest of promoting NFC’s ‘Gemas Gold’?” asked the DAP publicity chief.
Mohamad Salleh was reported by the Malaysian Insider as justifying the supermarket as a means to expand its beef market from cows slaughtered at the National Feedlot Centre.
He, however, did not stipulate whether NFC will be exporting raw or processed beef.
‘Is someone lying?’
According to Pua, Mohamad Salleh, who is cabinet minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s husband, could either lacks business sense or is “lying through his teeth” by saying the supermarket is needed to promote NFC’s beef.
“Sale of beef and beef products in such a supermarket would only contribute a miniscule percentage of overall product sales and will do very little towards increasing the demand for beef from Malaysia in Singapore,” he said.
He added that NFC had been “barely scratching 1 percent of the local market demands”, hence overseas investments are premature and contrary to the RM250 million government soft loan objectives.
On Tuesday, PKR chief of strategy Rafizi Ramli exposed that NFC is in the process of opening a supermarket in a mall in Singapore.
The company, which is also run by the minister’s three children, has had its assets frozen pending an audit into its operations.
Police have recommended to the attorney-general that NFC’s directors be charged with criminal breach of trust.
Among others, the company had used the soft loan for the feedlot project to “invest” in land and luxury condominiums.
In a statement, Pua said a check with Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) found that Malaysia cannot export raw beef to the island republic.
“At this point... only ‘processed beef’ such as sausages, patties, meatballs, smoked meat, etc, are approved for selected companies,” he said.
He added that even so, checks on the AVA website, updated Feb 17 this year, found that only five Malaysian companies were approved to export beef products to Singapore, and they do not include NFC.
“Hence how can (NFC chairperson) Mohamad Salleh Ismail claim that the setting-up of Farmhouse Supermarket, which is already about to open for business, be in the interest of promoting NFC’s ‘Gemas Gold’?” asked the DAP publicity chief. Mohamad Salleh was reported by the Malaysian Insider as justifying the supermarket as a means to expand its beef market from cows slaughtered at the National Feedlot Centre.
He, however, did not stipulate whether NFC will be exporting raw or processed beef.
‘Is someone lying?’
According to Pua, Mohamad Salleh, who is cabinet minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s husband, could either lacks business sense or is “lying through his teeth” by saying the supermarket is needed to promote NFC’s beef.
“Sale of beef and beef products in such a supermarket would only contribute a miniscule percentage of overall product sales and will do very little towards increasing the demand for beef from Malaysia in Singapore,” he said.
He added that NFC had been “barely scratching 1 percent of the local market demands”, hence overseas investments are premature and contrary to the RM250 million government soft loan objectives.
On Tuesday, PKR chief of strategy Rafizi Ramli exposed that NFC is in the process of opening a supermarket in a mall in Singapore.
The company, which is also run by the minister’s three children, has had its assets frozen pending an audit into its operations.
Police have recommended to the attorney-general that NFC’s directors be charged with criminal breach of trust.
Among others, the company had used the soft loan for the feedlot project to “invest” in land and luxury condominiums.
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