Yesterday, Shahrizat filed a defamation suit against Zuraida and her PKR colleague Rafizi Ramli for linking her to the RM250 million National Feedlot Corporation (NFC).
The Ampang MP labelled the women, family and community affairs minister as being late to the game after only filing her lawsuit only yesterday, despite having so much information on her and her family’s ties to the corporation publicly exposed.
Zuraida noted Shahrizat had applied for a three-week holiday earlier this month and asked, “Why didn’t she file it earlier?”
The opposition lawmaker said she welcomed the suit as it provided a chance for the rakyat to weigh in on the national cattle scandal.
“The RM250 million scandal involves a huge amount of public money and the people have a right to get accurate testimony about it.
But Zuraida (left) scoffed at the minister for filing the defamation suit.
“It’s so sad the minister does not understand [what defamation mean]. We never said Shahrizat alone. We always say Shahrizat and Co, Shahrizat and her husband... unless Datuk Seri Muhammad Salleh is not her husband, we don’t know,” Zuraida added, her tongue firmly in her cheek.
Zuraida also pointed out that Shahrizat had also filed for an injunction, but stressed that no one had a right to stop anyone from speaking out.
She added that PKR would continue its roadshows to raise more awareness on the cattle scandal.
“After this I will go to Johor for a ceramah and to explain this issue,” she told reporters.
Zuraida said the party will wait for the hearing and disclose the rest of the information they had on the NFC.
PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli had also welcomed the RM100 million defamation suit filed Shahrizat against him, saying it would help uncover more dirt on the scandal-hit NFC.
The 34-year-old said he was “more than glad” to go to court as this would allow him to subpoena the NFC for company documents that could buttress the party’s claims against Shahrizat and her family.
PKR is already in possession of what it claims to be the NFC’s cash book — obtained through an anonymous whistleblower — which details every transaction made by the company via its primary account.
“We are very certain we are fine because everything that we say is backed by facts and data from inside, which they have not denied,” Rafizi told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
He noted that it was Shahrizat and not the NFC who had filed the suit, pointing out that the company could also dispute the allegations in court.
The suit was likely a belated political move to assuage public suspicion about the NFC, Rafizi added, noting that the federal minister’s lack of reaction prior to this had lent credence to PKR’s claims.
The matter will be handled by the party lawyers, Sivarasa Rasiah and N. Surendran.
Shahrizat’s suit yesterday comes after months of allegations by PKR that she had misused millions in federal funds earmarked for the NFC to pay for personal expenses incurred by her and her family.
The cattle farming scheme is headed by the Wanita Umno chief’s husband, Salleh, and their three children.
Shahrizat applied for three weeks’ leave from her duties earlier this month after new allegations of bribery surfaced in the NFC project.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has announced that the government would appoint an auditor to scrutinise NFC’s books in light of PKR’s accusations.
Rafizi has urged the government to make the results and conclusions of the audit public by tabling them in Parliament.
