KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6, 2015: National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) Sdn Bhd executive chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail admitted in the High Court today that part of the RM181 million government loan were used to purchase properties in Bangsar and Singapore respectively. He made the admission before judge Datuk Hue Siew Kheng during cross examination by counsel Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, who appeared for defendants Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar and PKR then secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution. Razlan Hadri asked Mohamad Salleh if it is true that RM72 million out of the RM181 million loan granted by the government was deposited into NFCorp Public Bank fixed deposit account, to which Salleh said “Yes”. Razlan: Out of this amount (RM72 million), did your family buy a bungalow in Bangsar?
Mohamad Salleh: Yes. Razlan: Did you and your children also buy a condominium worth S$4.1million in Singapore? Mohamad Salleh: Agree. At this juncture, Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah who represented Mohamad Salleh interjected and said these question were irrelevant to the defamation suit. Subsequently, Razlan asked if Mohamad Salleh agreed that 50% of the government loan to NFCorp was for the former’s personal use to which Mohamad Salleh responded “No, I don’t agree”. In the plaintiff’s witness statement submitted to the court, Mohamad Salleh said Nurul Izzah had relied on malicious false statements made by the then PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli that were politically motivated and targeted against him and his wife, former Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. Razlan also asked Mohamad Salleh if he agreed that as of today, there is no court of law declaring that Rafizi’s statement made at the press conference on March 7, 2012 to be untrue and defamatory to which Mohamad Salleh nodded and said “yes”. When the trial resumed in the afternoon, Shafee quizzed his client and asked Mohamad Salleh to explain on the purported RM72 million in the Public Bank fixed deposit account. Mohamad Salleh: The RM72 million was given to NFCorp special loan account and I cannot use this money unless I get approval and obtain signatures from two committee members. He also denied using the amount as leverage for the bank to give him and his family loans. On Jan 13 last year, Mohamad Salleh and his company filed a defamation suit against Nurul Izzah over a statement regarding the purchase of eight condominium units, aired on Kini Tv. The suit, which also named Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) then secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution as the second defendant, was filed on Dec 24 last year. In his statement of claim, Mohamad Salleh alleged that Nurul Izzah had made a statement based on the exposure of PKR’s then strategic director Rafizi, who alleged he (Mohamad Salleh) had bought eight units of condominiums at KL Eco City with public funds channelled to NFCorp. Mohamad Salleh further claimed that the statement implied that he and his family had misappropriated NFCorp funds to buy the condominiums for their personal, and not company, use. He also claimed that the statement had tarnished his reputation and credibility as a businessman and husband of Shahrizat, and was subjected to ridicule by the public. He is seeking an injunction to halt the defendants from publishing any such statements about him and general, exemplary and punitive damages. Trial continues on Sept 29 and 30.
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