DPM and the Cattle Trade
An UMNOPUTRA does not need any prior knowledge or experience to be qualified for government handouts. The idea is to create a “successful” Bumiputra which can be admired and emulated by others. But more importantly, he must be able to deliver votes when called upon to do so by whoever the boss is.
By Nigel
It’s interesting to see how the Government continues to pour hundreds of millions into an activity that’s set up to fail! I am referring to the RM688 million which FELDA has set aside to start the largest cattle operation in SE Asia which I wrote about earlier. Is Najib trying to outdo Muhyiddin?
Today I want to share with you the little that I know about a project started earlier to overcome the problem of shortage of red meat in the country.
Yes I am referring to the National Feedlot Corporation which was launched with a grant of RM25 million and a soft loan of RM250 million for 10 years at 3.5%. The project was awarded to Dr Salleh by the then Minister of Agriculture, Muhyiddin Yassin.
So who is Dr Salleh? Well he is Sharizat’s husband. Sharizat of course, as everybody knows, is the Wanita UMNO chief. Dr Salleh, a Biochemist by training was pushed out of his job as CEO of Technology Park by Jamaluddin Jarjis now our great Ambassador to the US.
Neither Sharizat nor Salleh had any experience in the livestock industry. They have never been involved in this industry. Neither did they have any knowledge. But then there you are.
An UMNOPUTRA does not need any prior knowledge or experience to be qualified for government handouts. The idea is to create a “successful” Bumiputra which can be admired and emulated by others. But more importantly, he must be able to deliver votes when called upon to do so by whoever the boss is.
Utusan Malaysia and Berita Harian have given wide coverage of this great project conceived to overcome the shortage of red meat in the country.
How you might ask did Dr Salleh manage to pull off such a spectacular coup to get the government through the Ministry of Agriculture (Muhyiddin Yassin) to grant him the RM250 million loan at 3.5% over a repayment period of 10 years?
Now lets try to put two and two together.
The country needed to do something to substitute importation of red meat from Australia and India. That’s fair enough. So the project has to be big. RM250million is a nice round figure (even though RM25 million would have been ample).
And remember the great battle for UMNO Deputy Presidency between Muhyiddin, Muhd Taib and Ali Rastam? Well, Sharizat was Ketua Wanita UMNO at that time. Muhyiddin needed the wanita votes to beat Muhd Taib and Ali Rastam. RM250 million is nothing much especially when it is the rakyat’s money. If it makes a difference between winning and losing why not? After all its just a loan to Sharizat’s husband.
Now you get the picture?
If you go to Mont Kiara, look for a restaurant and butcher shop which sells the most expensive beef in the country. It’s the only one in the vicinity. In fact the only one of its kind in Malaysia. Exclusively for those with deep pockets of course.
If you go to the Lake Club, go to the gym. You are bound to bump into Sharizat’s husband any day at around 9am! Of course you will have to get past the tight security first. With a fat bank account, he needs to take care of his body. Be patient, and when Muhyiddin is ready to take on Najib, there will no doubt be more projects coming his way. All he needs to do is maintain his fitness. And make sure that Sharizat continues to be the UMNO Wanita Chief.
With that kind of deal why bother do anything?
See the picture now? Muhyiddin got the Deputy President’s post and therefore the DPM post thanks to Sharizat’s help (and the RM250 million deal).
Meanwhile we the Malays have to be content with consuming Indian Beef lah while waiting for Dr Salleh to learn and gain enough experience to start giving us some real meat through the National Feedlot Corporation project. And hopefully, when Muhyiddin becomes PM, meat will also be on the list of subsidized items. Let’s just have a little patience!
