THE National Feedlot Corporation is hoping that the newly formed Perikatan Nasional government will approve its proposed settlement for the RM250 million loan it owes the government. 

NFCorp chairman Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail said the solution was proposed via several letters to the previous Pakatan Harapan government as early as November 2018, until the latest on February 4, 2020. 

“Until today, the NFCorp has yet to get any approval to make the repayment. In fact a civil suit was filed against NFCorp and several parties have been asked by the Attorney-General to make the payment.

“The government’s decision to file a civil suit against NFCorp after we had proposed a refund is shocking and confusing. 

“The suit was filed to demand a repayment of the remaining loan. However NFCorp had agreed to repay the same debt a year and a half ago, with the approval of the Finance Ministry,” said Salleh.

Salleh hopes the new Attorney-General and the Finance Ministry will provide a fair treatment for NFCorp to settle its remaining debts. 

In June 2019, Salleh told Utusan Online that he is still waiting to hear back from then Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on its offer to repay a government loan extended to the company in 2008. 

Salleh said a letter on the matter was sent to Lim on May 17. 

“However, we have not yet heard anything from them. I would like to take this opportunity to say we will cooperate fully, in accordance with the judicial process, on this matter,” he said in a statement carried by Utusan Online. 

On May 20, Lim announced that the government would take legal action to recover in full the RM250 million loan it extended to NFCorp after the firm defaulted on repayment. 

Together with interest and late-interest charges, the outstanding loan amount stood at RM253,618,455.03 as of April 30. 

“Of this sum, RM110,840,854.28 is the amount due for repayment to the federal government as of April 30, 2019, comprising loan principal arrears of RM81,987,629.65, loan interest of RM22,967,131.55 and late-interest charges of RM5,886,093.08,” the ministry’s statement read. 

Lim also said the ministry referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on August 29 last year for further action to recover the money. 

NFCorp was set up in 2006, when the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry contracted Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd (AISB) to develop an integrated livestock farming and beef production facility. 

AISB incorporated NFCorp in December that year, and imported its first batch of 904 cattle by February 2008. 

In 2011, NFCorp was embroiled in a scandal after the Auditor-General’s Report highlighted that it was poorly managed and met only 41.1% of its 2010 target, and called the firm “a mess”. – March 8, 2020.