SHAHRIZAT SUES RAFIZI, ZURAIDA

By : YOW HONG CHIEH (TMI)

DATUK SERI Shahrizat Jalil has filed a RM100 million defamation suit against PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli for claiming she misused a federal loan meant for the National Feedlot Centre (NFC).

The women, family and community minister also named Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin in the suit, Star Online reported today.

Shahrizat’s (picture) suit comes after months of allegations by PKR that she had abused millions in federal funds earmarked for the NFC to pay for personal expenses incurred by her and her family.

The cattle-raising scheme is headed by Shahrizat’s husband Datuk Mohamad Salleh Ismail and their children.

The publicly-funded project, which hit national headlines following the Auditor-General’s Report last year, has continued to hog the limelight after it was linked to Shahrizat’s family.

PKR has since made several revelations relating to the scandal, including NFC’s purchase of two luxury condominium units in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, and the alleged use of project funds to pay for Shahrizat and her family’s personal expenses.

The opposition party has also alleged that Shahrizat’s family used nearly RM600,000 from NFC project funds to settle their credit card bills in 2009.

But NFC’s management has maintained that the credit card expenses were solely for business purposes.

It has also denied allegations that funds from the RM250 million government loan were channelled into its accounts before the loan agreement was signed.

Shahrizat applied for three weeks’ leave from her duties last week after new allegations of bribery surfaced in the NFC project.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced yesterday that the government would appoint an auditor to scrutinise NFC’s books in light of PKR’s accusations.

Rafizi today urged the government to make the results and conclusions of the audit public by tabling them in Parliament.