Following the reasoning by the embattled chairman of National Feedlot Corporation Mohamad Salleh Ismail on its venture into a high-end supermarket in Singapore, Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua has questioned how the company could claim that it wanted to sell its beef in the republic when Singapore has barred raw beef from Malaysia.
“What is perhaps most damning, is that a check with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore has shown that there is no approval to import raw beef from Malaysia.
"At this point of time, only 'processed beef' such as sausages, patties, meatballs, smoked meat etc., are approved for selected companies,” Pua explained in a statement today.
Earlier, PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli revealed that Salleh and his two children were owners of soon-to-open Farmhouse supermarket in Singapore, located in a high-end mall.
Salleh, husband of Wanita UMNO chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil , however argued that the move was necessary as by 2015, the National Feedlot Centre would be producing 78,000 tonnes of beef, more than what the local market could take.
“When we have this many tonnes of beef, the Malaysian market will not buy everything so we have to find other places to sell. We don’t have a contract with the government (to sell beef)... We only have a contract to slaughter the cows. Where do you think we are going to sell this?” Salleh was quoted as saying by The Malaysian Insider.
Pua described Salleh's explanation as "putting the cart before the cows", saying NFC had yet to get approval to export its raw beef or even processed meat to Singapore.
More importantly, said Pua, is NFC’s response on whether the RM250 million loan from the government to the company had been utilised to set up the supermarket under the ownership of Shahrizat’s family.
“Such diversion of funds from the NFC is clearly in breach of the Loan Agreement and the Companies Act 1965.
"Salleh should not be distracted from the core issue of criminal breach of trust and must be held accountable to the tax-payers who are funding the operations of NFC,” he added.
Info : News
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