[PART 2] THE LIES, DISTORTION AND MISREPRESENTATIONS OF @rafiziramli

@rafiziramli – mess with the bulls, you’ll get the horns

At the height of the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) drama, every news story that was churned by the pro opposition news portals following statements given by PKR Strategy Director Rafizi Ramli and his gang, would reverberate NFCorp described “in a mess.” Citing the Auditor-General’s 2010 Report without any verification, portals like MalaysiaKini, Malaysian Insider, Malaysia Chronicle and Free Malaysia Today went at length on this hook-line to induce readers into believing so. Their almost daily echo was the work of Rafizi who had orchestrated a massive propaganda campaign against NFC the project and NFCorp the company. To be honest, National Feedlot Corporation was never in any mess. In the first place, the company was never audited by the AG. But these news portals stood by a belief that Rafizi had the facts. Well, Rafizi didn’t. It was never a fact that there was a “mess”. Fabiani Azmi looks up more of the lies and brings out the truth for all to see ..

Even the Auditor-General had had enough of the nonsense by the opposition to warrant a statement to be issued to affirm that the AG’s 2010 Report had never said the National Feedlot Centre was ever “in a mess”. Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Haji Ambrin Buang in a media statement and in a letter to NFCorp on 25 January 2012, explained that the Jabatan Audit Negara did not audit private limited companies. NFCorp, Ambrin said, was never audited by his department. And he underscored the fact that he had never said NFC was “in a mess” (see pic).

i. “Perkara yang menjadi fokus utama pengauditan prestasi yang dijalankan oleh JAN ialah pencapaian projek Pusat Fidlot Nasional (PFN) sejak penubuhannya pada tahun 2006 dan bukannya National Feedlot Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (NFCorp) sebagai sebuah syarikat.” 

ii. “NFCorp adalah syarikat yang berdaftar di bawah Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia di mana Kementerian Kewangan Diperbadankan memegang satu golden share bernilai RM1. Manakala modal berbayar berjumlah RM1.11 juta telah disumbangkan oleh Agroscience Industries Sdn. Bhd.”

iii. “Jika dibaca keseluruhan LKAN 2010 itu, tidak ada pun disebut perkataan-perkataan seperti kucar-kacir, ‘in a mess’ atau pun penyelewengan. Perkataan ini digunakan oleh pihak-pihak lain di luar kawalan Jabatan Audit Negara. Perkara ini telah saya jelaskan dalam kenyataan akhbar saya pada 25 Januari 2012.”

However, despite the media clarification and a letter from Tan Sri Ambrin, PKR Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin in an interview with Malaysian Insider on the following day, insisted “NFC still a mess”. She was quoted to have said in defiance of Ambrin’s clarification, “The entire national cattle-farming project is still in a ‘mess, regardless of who said it.”

Zuraida’s display of arrogance speaks volumes of her character. It would appear a lie had become the truth for Zuraida and the opposition.

At the high court, lead counsel for Wanita UMNO Chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Datuk Seri Dr Muhammad Shafee Abdullah brought crates of evidence on the malicious and scathing lies fabricated by Rafizi and Zuraida. Shahrizat testified that she believed the Opposition calculated and designed to make her the primary target of their attacks. It had never been about getting to the truth of the NFC matter, she said.

“This kind of collateral culpability is simply an abuse to take ‘pot shots’ at the Barisan Nasional party,” she said of her political enemies.

Rafizi Ramli has an amazing zeal to see to the downfall of the current government. It has been expose after expose. And whichever way he does it, whether legitimate or illegitimate, straight or crooked, does not seem to matter. He dismissed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s rationale that charging him over the BAFIA contraventions had been necessary as he had not gone through the proper channels with his revelations.

Well, even if Rafizi did go through the proper channels, the confidential bank documents would not show any wrongdoing by NFCorp or its directors. The purported loans on eight KL Eco City Properties never existed. What Rafizi had in hand in violation of BAFIA are loan summaries and personal accounts unrelated to NFCorp. They were personal loans taken in 2005, years before NFCorp was established, and in 2008, years before KL Eco City went on sale in 2011. In the next episode, this writer will provide evidence of a bank correspondence dated 4 January 2012 that confirms no loan was ever subscribed for KL Eco City properties.

As always, Rafizi was seeking drama for his expose actions, chalking up political points for Anwar Ibrahim’s goal to Putrajaya. His rationale to the public was that the authorities were slow and suspect. But seriously, meticulous investigations do take time. They are never hurried if one is to be thorough, especially when one has to sieve through volumes of information to gather solid evidence. The BAFIA investigations by Bank Negara Malaysia that began after a report was filed in April, took months before Rafizi was charged on 1 August.

When arrested in a dawn raid, Rafizi expressed shock as he had thought the case was so long ago. Well, ultimately the law catches up with you.

Investigations did take time. There was evidence to be gathered, witnesses to corroborate with, statements to be recorded, and so on. Bank Negara Malaysia would be thorough and not work at reckless ‘Mat Rempit’ speeds. But Rafizi had been an investigator, prosecutor, judge and executor – all four-in-one at speeds that break the law. He had been quick to adjudicate without verification and correctness. In fact, Rafizi was never for the real full truth or the full picture. His hasty ways had been merely for political gain in bad faith.

Communication experts call this propaganda. According to Wikipedia, “propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community towards some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media in order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes.”

“Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude towards the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of political warfare.”

Rafizi lied when he told a MalaysiaKini reporter,” I don't think they ever meant to do the cattle rearing business as their main business, you know.”

How would Rafizi have arrived at this conclusion? NFCorp supplies to over 160 anchor customers from various sectors. These include hypermarkets, supermarkets, wet markets, beef product manufacturers, hotels, restaurants and cafés. Had Rafizi spoken with these customers? NFCorp’s sale of beef peaked double digit millions in 2010. But no, Rafizi would have us believe otherwise through his lies that the project was not as intended. Rafizi fails to realize that there are at least 160 anchor customers who would gladly testify that they receive regular supplies of beef from NFCorp for their retail business.

This writer believes it is long overdue that NFCorp sues the pants off Rafizi Ramli and the opposition for their lies, gross distortions and misrepresentations. The lies fielded by Rafizi and the subsequent media coverage have caused hefty damage to not only the businesses of NFCorp and its group of companies but to the reputation of individuals as well. Even facilities from a bank for the company were withdrawn from concerns arising out of these perpetuated falsehoods.

In Islam, “fitnah, the act of lying, is considered worse than killing”, reads the Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 191 below.

The Almighty has his ways. The truth will prevail. And the guilty shall face His retribution.

FabAz88