The Gemas feedlot debacle; half-truths and pertinent questions


— by Nawawi Mohamad
The Malaysian Insider
Nov 02, 2011

NOV 2 — A RM73.64 million government project in Gemas, Negri Sembilan linked to Minister Datuk Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family to produce 8,000 heads of cattle in 2010 and ultimately 60,000 heads in 2015 has turned into a mess when production was at only 3,289 heads in 2010 that is only 41.1 per cent.

This was reported by the Auditor-General – and subsequently reported in the media.

In parliament Noh Omar, who is the Agriculture Minister, deemed the project successful because “the total number of cattle brought into the farm between 2008 and 2010 was 8,016”.

But the main purpose of the farm is to produce cows and not to bring in cows from somewhere else and feed them before slaughter! When we talk about producing, it involves breeding and everything that goes with it. The reporting by the media and response by the minister was not entirely correct. The money involved was RM131 million (not just RM73.64 million), a portion of a RM250 million soft loan, and thus far RM131 million have been disbursed as confirmed and defended by the prime minister.

The Gemas feedlot is supposed to be the National Feedlot Authority in conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Negri Sembilan government. The annual target envisaged by the Ministry of Agriculture is to produce 1.3 million heads in 2010 and not 60,000. It is a comprehensive scheme with the Gemas feedlot centre as the main anchor with 310 satellite feedlot sites all over the country and one private feedlot. This is how the loan was allocated: the Gemas feedlot was given RM80 million and the rest RM40 million. The Gemas feedlot has to produce (for itself) 60,000 heads annually in 2010 (not 2015) and it has a major role to play in supplying the feeder cows, food, technical assistance, advice and other services for the entire feedlot scheme nationwide including the private one.

Now remember, the target was 1.3 million cows believe it or not!

Thus when the main player in Gemas could only produced 3,289 heads for itself in 2010, how could it provide all the feeder cows, food and other services for the rest of the satellite feedlots?

The other question that needs to be asked is what happens to the 311 feedlots in the scheme? The next question is what should be done next? Wouldn’t it be much cheaper to just import the cows? Is the MACC going in? This is a money-wasting scheme as a result of moneymaking and one more never-ending burden the rakyat has to bear. Could it be that the Umno/BN government thought that the rakyat are cows?

  1. #1 by k1980 on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 2:24 pm

    Why was she given the RM131 million contract to rear cows when she is not a member of COW(Club of Obedient Wives)?

  2. #2 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 2:52 pm

    D biggest ‘Saya COW 1st, M’sian 2nd’ is not in Gemas feedlot but hapili mooooing away
    Moo mooted “Holy cow! What’s your beef?”, everything in order, d wanita minister n famili OK 1; go find some COW members n enjoy simulatneous spiritual orgi, peace b with U

  3. #3 by SENGLANG on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 3:06 pm

    From media report Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd was the company owned by the Minister’s husband and sons. This company was reported to be the one which involve in this project.

    From SSM search on 25.10.2011 no audited financial statement has been filed with SSM since 7.2.2007 when it first filed an exempt private certificate. If financial statement were filed we will know how much loans has been given and its status.

  4. #4 by monsterball on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 4:21 pm

    Every project costing hundreds of millions are announced with great news…making no Oppositions objecting.
    Every crook make lots of easy money,
    Every time they are exposed…failing to deliver…they give all sorts of ridiculous answers.
    They never fail. They never cheat.

  5. #5 by SENGLANG on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 4:45 pm

    whenever there is big allocation for projects the inner circle will go all out to grab it. In this case a self company was bought by the husband and that is just start like that. It was not a problem that minister’s husband and sons can not go into business but we have to ask ourselves why this kind of agriculture project not go for open tender at least give to some company or people who has the knowledge of cattle farming? I am sure there are farmers who has the know how but no funding and this kind government soft loans are just mean that provide funding for those who have the knowledge to work on the projects.

    Mind you this self company who later named Agroscience Industries Sdn bhd named sound great but .. not even has updated financial statements being filed with SSM thus work against the companies acts.

    The directors are not concern to comply with basis law just they are involve in this millions RM Project

  6. #6 by monsterball on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 4:46 pm

    With the hundreds of millions spent……the Govt promised that the total amount of cows to be produced will be 1.3 million.
    Right now…the best cowherd man can come out with 3248 cows…and no details from the balance 311 breeder …chosen.
    It is supposed to be a project to stop importing beef and be an exporter.
    Have we reach that target?
    If not when?…a 100 years from now?

  7. #7 by Godfather on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 5:12 pm

    Where did the writer get RM 131 million from ? The reply from Najib was that 182 million was already disbursed as of July 31, 2011 which probably means that the outstanding amount could now have exceeded RM 200 million.

    I love Noh Omar’s comment that we should be grateful that a minister’s kids would want to be cattle-herders. Only in Bolehland can a comment like this go unpunished either by UMNO’s leadership or by the electorate.

    My question to Idris Jala is this: Is this project one of the Economic Transformation Projects announced by the government ?

  8. #8 by Godfather on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 5:14 pm

    These economic thieves should simply say that the bulk of the money went into building airconditioned barns for the cows. Perhaps they would approve another RM 250 million to complete the project, just like the Shah Alam hospital project.

  9. #9 by Godfather on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 5:15 pm

    Was told by those in the know that these people diverted funds into building restaurants in anticipation of getting the best cuts of beef. Meatworks is one such chain owned by the affected Minister’s family.

  10. #10 by jus legitimum on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 7:02 pm

    Scandal after scandal keeps surfacing,where are you MACC? MACC is only good at ending the life of TBH for a mere $2400 even before proofing him guilty of the allegation.Now everybody is getting ‘tak tahan’ already because bankcrupty is not far away at the rate plundering and cheating goes.

  11. #11 by Godfather on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 7:37 pm

    MACC in its usual haste to absolve UMNOputras of any corruption claims now say that the company that charged the gomen 22 times the price for binoculars has no case to answer. Blacklist them, MACC says. That’s all ? Blacklist them and tomorrow they set up another company with a new Class A contractor’s licence to start all over again.

    Bolehland has turned into wonderland for some.

  12. #12 by dcasey on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 8:37 pm

    Looks like this Sayalazat woman has got more shadow cows than all the shadow members that himpun and perkosa put together. Cows rule the day Mat Ali so eat your heart out dude.

  13. #13 by tak tahan on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 9:52 pm

    Sayalazat abang hebat anak pandai sama sama makan besar besar lor.Kaya raya satu keluarga happy happy mah.Hari Raya rumah buka besar besar 1Malaysia olang jom mari makan kuat kuat berak banyak banyak.1scandal!

  14. #14 by rockdaboat on Wednesday, 2 November 2011 - 11:19 pm

    I know that this so-called minister is stupid but I did not expect his head to be so thick. He can’t see what is wrong.

  15. #15 by waterfrontcoolie on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 6:41 am

    Remember the Super-EGO asking the nation to Look East Again! Such wantonness would require the whole bunch to climb Mt. Kinabalu or be flown up there and then flung down out of shame! Of course this would never happen! this would be sin! But to swindle the Nation is SINLESS! Or just ask the religious Chief of Perak [or has he retired?]. There will no solution as long as they cn sign all those contracts with inmunity. They must be removed from that position! maybe the nation would be able to find out the REAL truth; though some would say, they would have flown out of the country by then! Very possible, since so many Democratic western nations are on the verge of bankruptcy, they will offer them PR!

  16. #16 by k1980 on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 8:08 am

    Jibbi, you think we are all cows? So easy to fool us, eh?

  17. #17 by SENGLANG on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 8:11 am

    From what have been reported so far we understood that the government is giving outs soft loan. What is definition of soft loan? Most probably mean loans with very low interest rate and has no fixed term of repayment? But as we all know, the mentally was that since it was government loans therefore it was Ah Kong’s loans. so repayment was basically will never come that also provided that the project is generating profit and have enough cash to make repayment. Even that most of the loans will never repay.

    Look at PTPTN loans what so much have not be paid? Simple not enforcement.

    We do not know how well or bad this Agroscience company perform since it has no audited financial statement being files with SSM

  18. #18 by SENGLANG on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 8:17 am

    Malaysia ministers are first class when come into defending any allegation true or false.

    As this case the allegation was not whether a ministers kids can be awarded with farming projects. If that kids are good farmers that is fine but we all know so far the new generation will never out their mind and souls in farming. If that kid has been graduated with UPM ( pertanian U) and with master with cattle making then look like he is interest in farming. Was that kid has that interest or simply using his name to hold shares and act as directors just for the sake to get the soft loan and loans spent them on faradi

  19. #19 by boh-liao on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 10:18 am

    B4 turning cowboy, d minister’s husband was given d GOLDEN opportunity 2 b d CEO of Technology Park M’sia – wonder what’s d financial record there?
    Dis case very similar 2 d case of Ninebio Sdn Bhd (9Bio), set up 4 some very privileged MOH individuals – wonder what’s d outcome of taxpayers’ $$$? $$ in, $$ gone, poof
    Well, dis nation is soooooo nice, got lots of $$$ 2 give away 2 super-rich ppl

  20. #20 by dagen on Thursday, 3 November 2011 - 6:17 pm

    No no no k1980. Obviously she must have thought that cows could tell no tales. So you see, whether those cows were bought from somewhere or bred under the program, honestly, between the husband and the wife and the cows, no other forth person would know a thing.

  21. #21 by AskChong on Sunday, 6 November 2011 - 9:52 pm

    Malaysia is doom. Cheating million to billion by umnoputra is not unlawful….. No wonder million people left this Bolehland, no eyes see.

You must be logged in to post a comment.