Johor Wanita Umno has urged party leaders against becoming agents of the opposition by asking Women, Family and Community Development Minister and Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to resign over the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) controversy.

Its head Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain told Bernama in Johor Bahru today that investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and police on the NFC controversy were ongoing and should be respected by all.

Sharifah Azizah was commenting on a statement by Rafidah Aziz, who is also former international trade and industry minister and former Wanita Umno chief, that Shahrizat "should know what to do" in light of the controversy.

She said Shahrizat, who had given the authorities as much room as possible to investigate the NFC matter, deserved praise for her action on the matter and that Wanita Umno should not be distracted from going all out to face the upcoming general election.

The controversy arose after the auditor-general in his 2011 report stated that the centre had not met its scheduled targets since it started operations.

The centre is managed by NFCorp, which is owned by her husband Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail. The government had provided a RM250 million soft loan for the running of the centre, which is entrusted to help the country reduce beef imports.

- Bernama