THE agriculture and agro-based industry minister today admitted writing to the prime minister asking for a RM1.4 billion contract to be directly awarded to the National Farmers Organisation (Nafas).

“Yes, it is true that I wrote to the prime minister. I wrote as it was my responsibility to do so,” Salahuddin Ayub said.

He said anyone could bid for the contract as long as the tender was open.

“It is the process. As long as the tender process has not been completed, anyone can come and meet me,” he said.

He said his actions would only be wrong if he had written after someone else had been awarded the contract.

He said the recipient had not yet been picked as discussions were still ongoing.

He said this in response to MCA president Wee Ka Siong who had wanted an explanation for Salahuddin’s request to the prime minister.

Yesterday Wee said in parliament that Salahuddin had written a letter to the prime minister on November 7 during the Tanjung Piai by-election campaign to asked that Nafas be granted the contract  for agricultural imports in the padi sector.

The contract was for three years from 2020 to 2022, said Wee.

He also had slammed Salahuddin for getting Dr Mahathir Mohamad involved in “cronyism” dealings.

The Ayer Hitam MP said several local companies who had won the open tenders with linked to padi subsidies have had their deals cancelled.

“They were waiting to sign the contracts but were suddenly told the tenders had been cancelled as they would now be done through direct negotiation,” he said.

Wee said companies who had lost the bids discovered that the contracts were awarded through direct negotiations instead.

He said this was against PH’s principle of eschewing direct negotiations.

Salahuddin’s deputy Sim Tze Tzin had responded that said no open tenders related to padi subsidy contracts had been cancelled.

He said the projects were still awaiting approval of the Finance Ministry.

Salahuddin today said it was not his ministry’s prerogative but the Finance Ministry’s to award contracts.

“I insist that we have not anything wrong. There is no evidence to the claims made by Wee that we have a RM1.4 billion scandal,” he said.

“What scandal is he talking about? Is it like the 1MDB scandal where I have taken the money to enrich my family, my cronies or myself?

“This RM1.4 billion is for Nafas, for the welfare and development of 920,000 farmers and settlers.”

He also told Wee to furnish proof that he had used the funds during the Tg Piai by-election. – November 22, 2019.