Mahfuz asked if there was pressure to keep the PAC minutes under wraps.
PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar alleged today that it was Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin who chaired committee that awarded the RM250 million
National Feedlot Centre (NFC) project to Agroscience Sdn Bhd, a company
owned by minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil’s husband.
Claiming this was revealed during the Public Accounts Committee’s
(PAC) probe on the cattle-farming scandal, the PAS leader repeated
demands for the committee to reveal details of its findings by making
the minutes of its meeting public.
He said the minutes of the PAC’s meeting on November 23 last year would help the public understand that the scope of the scandal did not merely involve the mishandling of NFC’s funds, but also the roles of other top leaders before the project was kicked off.
The Pokok Sena MP expressed suspicion over PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid’s apparent reluctance to reveal the committee’s findings and asked if the Umno leader was “under pressure”.
“I have sought for the meeting minutes before and the response that Azmi first gave was that an MP must first write in to him to request for the documents.
“Then he suddenly said that the request must come from the opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Then, again he turned around to say that Anwar, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP’s Lim Kit Siang must each send in separate letters to request for the minutes... I see as if there is something pressuring him in this matter,” Mahfuz said at a press conference here.
The PAS leader pointed out that Azmi had admitted shortly after the PAC’s probe on the NFC that there was something amiss in the handling of the multimillion ringgit project.
As such, said Mahfuz, the PAC chairman should not wait for official letters from MPs before disclosing PAC’s meeting minutes in public.
“What is important here is that apart from the four committees tasked to monitor the project, one more committee formed by the government is the ‘selection committee’... chaired by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin... it was tasked to select the company to run the NFC.
“This is important. On September 25, 2006, this committee held a meeting to select the company, whereby six firms participated, and the project was awarded to Agroscience Sdn Bhd.
“This was explained during the PAC probe and that is why I am saying that the meeting minutes are important,” Mahfuz said.
Muhyiddin, now the deputy prime minister, was the agriculture and agro-based industries minister when the NFC contract was given out.
Muhyiddin was the agriculture and agro-based industries minister when the NFC contract was given out.
Mahfuz
said Muhyiddin and those who sat with him on the “selection committee”
must explain their rationale behind selecting Agroscience Sdn Bhd to
lead the project and whether the firm had met with all the necessary
criteria before it was chosen.
The National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), tasked with running the
national cattle-farming project, is chaired by Shahrizat’s husband,
Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail. Their three children are directors in
the company.
PKR has made several claims of abuse of the federal loan involving over RM62 million in land, property and expenses unrelated to cattle farming.
Shahrizat’s son, Wan Shahinur Izmir Salleh, has insisted that the company decided it would make better use of the money by investing in property during a break in business operations due to the government’s decision to suspend construction of an abattoir that would have been rented to NFCorp.
The NFC hit the headlines following last year’s Auditor-General’s Report, and has continued to hog the limelight after it was linked to Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat and her family.
The Wanita Umno chief applied for three weeks’ leave from her ministerial duties last month after new allegations of bribery surfaced. She has since resumed her duties.
Muhyiddin announced last month Putrajaya would appoint an auditor to scrutinise NFCorp’s books in light of accusations made against the company, but dismissed calls for a royal commission of inquiry into the NFC. - malaysian insider
Azmi Khalid’s PAC Chairmanship will be remembered for his refusal to allow PAC to investigate the RM330 million NFC/NFCorp “cattle condo” scandal
NFC: Minit mesyuarat perlu kepada ahli parlimen
Sikap Azmi itu seolah-olah menafikan kepentingan ahli-ahli Parlimen untuk mengetahui lebih jauh mengenai sebarang isu berhubung NFC yang kini kelihatan amat meragukan sehingga menimbulkan pelbagai tanda tanya kepada pelbagai pihak mengenai ketelusannya dalam mengendalikan projek ternakan lembu negara.
Naib Presiden PAS, Datuk Mahfuz Omar(kiri) berkata, pada hal surat permohonan supaya dikeluarkan minit mesyuarat tersebut telah pun dikemukakan oleh beliau kepada Azmi baru-baru ini seperti yang diminta oleh Azmi sendiri.
Menurutnya, sekarang setelah surat itu dikemukakan oleh beliau, Azmi memberikan alasan tidak boleh mengemukakan minit mesyuarat tersebut, kecuali dengan penyertaan surat yang ditandatangani Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Katanya, selepas itu, Azmi memberikan alasan mesti disertakan pula dengan surat yang ditandatangani sama oleh Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang dan Penasihat DAP, Lim Kit Siang.
"Jadi, apa maknanya itu semua? Saya sendiri dah hantar surat, tapi Datuk Azmi ternyata berbolak-balik. Pada hal dia sendiri dah akui ada yang tak kena mengenai projek NFC itu.
"Lagi pun, apa perlunya surat yang ditandatangani oleh semua ahli-ahli Parlimen barulah boleh dikemukakan minit mesyuarat itu? Pada hal surat daripada saya seorang pun sudah mencukupi, manakala kewujudan PAC itu sendiri adalah atas kehendak dan persetujuan ahli-ahli Parlimen," katanya pada sidang media di Pejabat Agung PAS, di sini, hari ini.
Minit mesyuarat PAC yang dimohon untuk dikemukakan oleh Azmi itu, menurutnya, adalah yang dicatatkan pada mesyuarat jawatankuasa itu pada 23 November tahun lalu di Bilik Mesyuarat 1 bangunan Parlimen.
Mesyuarat tersebut diadakan bagi membincangkan tentang projek ternakan lembu negara yang berada di bawah tanggungjawab NFC, dengan dihadiri ahlli-ahli jawatankuasa PAC yang mewakili pelbagai parti, pegawai-pegawai kerajaan dari pelbagai agensi terbabit dan saksi-saksi yang terlibat dengan perjalanan projek itu.
Menurut Mahfuz, minit mesyuarat tersebut amat penting dikemukakan oleh PAC kepada ahli-ahli Parlimen kerana ia jelas melibatkan kepentingan seluruh rakyat dan negara. Katanya, atas kesedaran itulah beliau mengemukakan permohonan tersebut, manakala Azmi pula sepatutnya memberikan kerjasama yang baik kepada kesemua ahli-ahli Parlimen untuk mengetahui perkara itu dengan lebih lanjut.
"Pelbagai perkara ingin diketahui oleh ahli-ahli Parlimen dan rakyat negara ini mengenai projek ternakan lembu negara di bawah NFC itu.
"Antaranya, kenapa ia diberikan kepada syarikat keluarga Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil, Agroo Science? Berapa jumlah pinjaman yang dikeluarkan kepada syarikat itu? Bagaimana pinjaman itu diberikan? Bagaimana dengan perjalanan projek itu dan sebagainya," tegasnya.
Selain itu, beliau yang juga Ahli Parlimen Pokok Sena berkata, rakyat juga ingin tahu siapakah sebenarnya yang membuat cadangan bagi pemilihan syarikat keluarga Shahrizat untuk melaksanakan projek tersebut.
Penyerahan projek tersebut kepada syarikat keluarga Shahrizat, tambahnya, berpunca dari cadangan beberapa jawatankuasa terbabit termasuk Jawatankuasa Pemilihan dan Jawatankuasa Kemajuan Projek yang dipengerusikan oleh Menteri Pertanian dan kini menjadi Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Beliau yakin perkara itu turut terbabit dengan keputusan Muhyiddin, manakala kemampuan dan keupayaan Muhyiddin dalam memilih syarikat untuk mengendalikan projek tersebut amat mendukacitakan.
"Kini projek itu ternyata gagal dan turut terbabit dengan pelbagai penyelewengan sehingga negara mengalami kerugian amat besar. Jadi apa alasan Muhyiddin memberikan projek itu kepada Agro Science?" ujarnya.
Perkara itu, tegasnya, perlu disiasat dengan menyeluruh dan sehubungan itu, beliau mencadangkan agar ditubuhkan Suruhanjaya Diraja bagi menyiasat perkara itu, termasuk dengan memanggil Muhyiddin memberikan keterangan berhubung pemilihannya ke atas syarikat Agroo Science.
"Seperti yang kita maklum, selain Agro Science, terdapat lima lagi syarikat yang turut memohon untuk melaksanakan projek itu? Kenapa Agro Science yang dipilih? Apa muslihatnya?" katanya.
Kini setelah kegagalan itu, kesalahan tidak boleh diletakkan ke atas Shahrizat semata-mata, katanya, malah kesemua pemimpin Umno atau BN yang terbabit perlu bertanggungjawab mengenainya. - harakahdaily
NFC: Why are the rich are protected while the ordinary Malaysian goes to jail?
cheers.
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