NFC food project viable for national security, Salleh tells court

National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) chairperson Mohamad Salleh Ismail has testified that the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) food project is viable for national security.

He told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the government project in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan has merely been suspended since 2009.

Salleh (above) gave oral evidence before judge Anand Ponnudurai that while the government has terminated the loan agreement with NFCorp, the same has not been done against the implementation agreement.

He contended that if the government abided by Schedule 8 of the implementation agreement - which was for it to construct an export quality abattoir (EQA) for NFC - then the project would have been successful.

“This is a good project and the implementation agreement has not been terminated but the project has been suspended since May 2009.

“From the perspective of D1 (first defendant, NFCorp), had the government executed what was agreed in Schedule 8 of the implementation agreement, this project could take off.

“It can be done as food is a security issue, a national security issue. Agriculture and food are important matters in countries around the world,” Salleh replied during re-examination by his counsel K Kirubakaran.

He was giving his testimony to rebut the government’s civil suit against him and several others to recover RM253.6 million in loans given for the NFC project as well as incurred interest on the borrowings.

When Anand asked why NFCorp could not have built the EQA if the government was not building it, Salleh said they could not do so as such a facility cost RM60 million which they did not have at the time.

Hearing of the lawsuit will resume on March 15 next year.

Senior federal counsels Nurhafizza Azizan and Asliza Ali represented the government who is the plaintiff.

Two days ago, Bernama reported Salleh testifying that the RM253.6 million loan could not be repaid as the government did not provide the necessary infrastructure for the NFC project, such as the failure to build the EQA to enable NFCorp to commence full production.

Yesterday, Salleh testified that a “typhoon” sequence of events hampered the NFC project, among them the government charging him in court in 2012 in relation to the issue. However, he was acquitted of the four criminal charges in 2015.

11 defendants

The civil action named NFCorp, Salleh - who is former women, family, and community development minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s husband - and his three children, Wan Shahinur Izran, Wan Shahinur Izmir, and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah, as the first to fifth defendants, respectively.

The sixth to the 11th defendants are companies controlled by Salleh’s family - National Meat & Livestock Corporation Sdn Bhd, Real Food Corporation Sdn Bhd, Meatworks Corporation Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, Asian Bioscience Corporation Sdn Bhd, and Technology Imageware (M) Sdn Bhd.

Through the lawsuit, the government alleged that it signed a loan agreement of RM250 million with NFC on Dec 6, 2007, to finance the costs of establishing and operating NFC in Gemas as part of its policy to develop and increase beef production.

The loan was disbursed in three tranches and Salleh’s family was alleged to have made 10 withdrawals amounting to RM180.51 million from Jan 24, 2008, to Jan 3, 2011.

The project came into the public limelight following PKR’s Rafizi Ramli raising allegations over the way that public funds were utilised for the project.

In April this year, the apex court allowed Rafizi’s appeal in NFCorp’s defamation suit against him, on grounds that he successfully raised the defence of fair comment.

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