Explain 'sloppy' feedlot centre award, DPM told
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin must explain why the awarding of the controversial National Feedlot Centre project was so "sloppy", said Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin must explain why the awarding of the controversial National Feedlot Centre project was so "sloppy", said Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin.
Citing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) 2012 report, which found a slew of faults with the National Feedlot Centre award process, she said this is because he was the Agriculture Minister at the time of award.
"(Then cabinet minister) Shahrizat Abdul Jalil ... resigned, so Muhyiddin should also be up front and explain why the award of this tender was so sloppy.
"Taking action just on the person who sits on the (National Feedlot Corporation or NFC) board of directors on behalf of the government is not fair, as it is the minister who is responsible for the sloppiness," Zuraida (left) told reporters.
The MACC report released yesterday found that the Agriculture Ministry did not carry out due diligence, while the government failed to place clauses to safeguard the RM250 million soft loan disbursed to the company.
The National Feedlot Corporation, which was awarded the project via direct negotiations, belongs to Shahrizat's husband and children.
Although resigning as women, family and community development minister, Shahrizat insists that she had no knowledge of her family's business activities.
The MACC, too, cleared her of having had a hand in the awarding of the multi-million ringgit project to her family members.
Zuraida said that the government still needs to explain how it aims to recover the RM250 million soft loan, following the breakdown in negotiations with Japanese company Kirimitonas Agro Sdn Bhd.
The company had initially entered negotiations to take over the embattled project.
Zuraida, who is also PKR Wanita chief, said that had it not been for PKR’s dogged exposes on the National Feedlot Centre project, it is likely that it would not have been investigated to this extent.

