KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's reputation should not be tarnished by the issues created by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC).

Malaysian Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) president Datuk K. Kenneth Eswaran said it was unfair to Najib if the NFC problem also adversely affected his good governance of the country.

“The prime minister is doing an excellent job by going down to the ground and ensuring that everyone receives the best regardless of who they are.

“He does not deserve these problems,” Eswaran told a press conference after chairing a meeting with MICCI members here on Saturday.

Without mentioning names, Eswaran said those involved should be prepared to face the consequences instead of coming up with excuses.

“The money was loaned by the government for a specific reason and so it is wrong to say that it was used to invest in other things.

“It's so difficult to get even a RM100,000 business loan these days but here you have a huge government loan of RM250mil with nominal conditions that should have rightfully been used for the given purpose,” Eswaran said.

According to Eswaran, the NFC's executive chairman, directors and shareholders must be answerable and responsible to the government and taxpayers.

He said it was also wrong for a person in the government to claim they were not aware of what was going on when businesses their family members were involved in went awry.

Eswaran reiterated that Najib's good reputation and name should not be brought down by an individual's wrongdoing.

He added that action must be initiated against the relevant parties.

Eswaran said the government's idea of initiating NFC was a good economic venture as it would eventually decrease the importing of cattle and beef.

The NFC issue came to light when the 2010 Auditor-General's Report, released in October, pointed out that the corporation had failed to achieve its objectives.

The NFC, headed by Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil's husband Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, is the "meat valley" project in Gemas, Negri Sembilan aimed at increasing the production of local meat and reducing dependency on import for such product.

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