KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 — The National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) thanked the Auditor-General today for clarifying that he had not called the company a “mess” in his 2010 report, adding the explanation would help strengthen public perception of its operations.
“NFCorp would like to take this opportunity to thank the auditor-general for issuing this valuable conclusion to what can be described as an arduous period for NFCorp,” NFCorp executive director Wan Shahinur Izmir said in the statement.
“The auditor-general’s statement will be a catalyst for NFCorp as it will atone our next steps in clearing the air and strengthening public perception of our business, which we cannot afford to let slide especially the trade and consumers.”
The RM250 million federally funded cattle farming project was first coined a “mess” in an article on English daily The Star after it made it into the pages of the A-G’s 2010 report.
The term was later repeatedly reused by various media organisations to describe the NFC after PKR launched a series of exposes to prove the project’s funds were being abused.
Ambrin, in clarifying the matter yesterday, confirmed he had not used the term “mess” to describe the project, but admitted that there were weaknesses in the NFC.
He also confirmed NFCorp’s argument that his 2010 report had not centred on the company but was an evaluation of whether the NFC project had been carefully planned and had met its objectives.
Ambrin also said the RM250 million loan agreement between NFCorp and the Malaysian government was signed in 2007 and not in 2010 as alleged by several parties.
