KUALA LUMPUR: A local company has proposed its plan to the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry to buy the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC).
Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub, when asked on the update of the NFC, said after many meetings between the ministry and relevant individuals, the ministry welcomed the move and pledged that it would facilitate the business as well as review its legal processes to solve the NFC issue.
“We want to solve the issue as soon as possible. We would facilitate the business and its legal terms.
“One of the terms that I will set up is that the company should be ready to return the loans to the finance ministry which the previous NFC had borrowed.
“If the company could manage to return back the loan that is good enough. With major investment, I am confident that this new company can revive the ruminant project,” Salahuddin told a press conference at the Farmers’ Organisation Authority building here today.
He said the ministry would also facilitate the satellite farms and would be ready to assist Negri Sembilan. However, the state has all the rights to manage the business.
“If this local company wants to get involve in a joint venture or collaborate with the ministry or any other agencies, they are welcome to do so,” he said.
In 2010, the report from Auditor-General had highlighted NFCorp’s failure to achieve its target of 8,000 heads of cattle that year.
The RM74 million centre in Gemas, Negri Sembilan only achieved 3,289 heads of cattle or 41 per cent of its 8,000 target.
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli had accused former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family of using part of RM250million soft loan allocated for the project to buy a luxury condominium.
It was also alleged that the beef produced was mostly sent to luxury restaurants owned by Shahrizat’s family.
On March last year, Finance Ministry revealed that the NFC still owed the government RM248 million in soft loans.
In 2012 and 2013, the NFC had only paid a sum of RM34.98 million and still owes that RM248 million to the government.
The case into NFC was re-opened last year under the instruction of Agriculture and Agro-based Industrial Ministry.
The Negri Sembilan state government has planned to revive the NFC centre in Gemas when all of its court and legal processes are concluded.
It was reported that the centre, which was closed down since a few years ago, should be given a new lease of life by the government due to the high consumer demand for cattle farming industry.
The government aimed at ensuring that the revived NFC would give positive impact on local beef production.