Monday, 16 January 2012

CEO denies abuse of NFC credit cards

Wan Shahinur Izran Salleh, chief executive officer of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC), has denied PKR's allegation that he and other family-members had abused the company's credit cards for individual reasons.

NONE"Company expenditure is paid by credit card. PKR's attempt to deceive is an insult to everyone's intelligence,” he said in his Twitter account today in response to an allegation by PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.

"PKR will always make slanderous and defamatory statements. This is politics. We will cooperate in any investigation."

Rafizi had claimed that Izran (left), the 27-year-old son of Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, and three other family members who hold top executive posts in NFC, had spent a total of RM593,500 in 2009 with credit cards charged to NFC.

However, Rafizi did not reveal the items of expenditure.

In an online interview with Malaysiakini today, Izran reiterated that the credit cards were used to pay for items bought by the company.

NONEHe also rebutted statements by Rafizi (right) and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang on the freezing of NFC assets.

"Assets have been frozen since the start of the case. But business must go on. So we need to apply to the police for each expenditure,”  he said.

"PKR's latest comments that business must stop fully shows their intent to cause the failure of the business. That, or their lack of depth."

Although Prime Minister Najib Abdul Raza had announced on Saturday that NFC assets had been frozen pending an investigation, Izran had said yesterday that it is still "business as usual" for the cattle farming project.

Their seemingly contradictory statements had prompted Rafizi and Lim to question the freeze order. Rafizi urged the government to freeze all NFC expenditure while Lim demanded details of the freeze order.

Threatening text-messages

Izran also claimed that his family and NFC employees have received threats by phone. Over the last two months, since PKR started its crusade against Shahrizat and the NFC, cars have been broken into and tyres were slashed as well.

"Just read some anonymous SMSes threatening the family. Alamak, lame giler (crazy). Why hide behind anonymous numbers? Politik Kotor. Orang Pengecut (Dirty politics, coward)," he wrote in his Twitter account.

He said some threats had a racial undertone, and that many police reports have been lodged.

"I don't remember how many reports made... Most (threats with racial undertone) were targeted at our non-Malay staff for working with the company. I will not repeat the words they used, but it is very threatening," he told Malaysiakini.

NONEIzran's father, Mohammad Salleh Ismail (left), is NFC chairperson while his elder brother Wan Shahinur Izmir, 31, and younger sister Wan Izzanah Fatimah, 25, are executive director and director respectively.

Police have begun investigations after PKR alleged that they had abused the RM250 million government soft loan facility to NFC.

"I don't remember how many times but we have been fully cooperating in the last three months. I don't know outcome of the investigation," replied Izran when asked about the police interview.

His frustration over the issue was evident in his Twitter postings yesterday.

"A calm, beautiful Sunday morning... spending it in the police station again. :( I should request for a cubicle at this rate," he said, followed by another message complimenting the men in blue.

"Just got done with Police. Kudos to policemen doing their work on a Sunday. Their wives and children were calling non-stop. All because of politics."

Izwan, who is active on Twitter, also exchanged words with his detractors in cyberspace, defending his father's qualification in obtaining the government-initiated mega project.

"I suppose a PhD in Biochemistry from Cornell University (Ivy League) is not good enough? Do you have one?" he replied to a Twitter user who questioned the government decision to give the project to Salleh who has no track record in the industry.

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