KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian minister announced her resignation on Sunday amid an alleged corruption scandal that has put pressure on Prime Minister Najib Razak's government ahead of looming elections.
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has come under fire over the "cows-for-condos" scandal, with accusations that her family used government money meant for a cattle-rearing project to invest in luxury apartments.
Perceived corruption and economic mismanagement were among voters' key grouses in the last general election, when the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition suffered its worst results ever.
Shahrizat said she would step down as minister when her senatorship - which before the scandal was expected to be extended - ends on April 8, according to an aide.
She plans to continue to head the women's wing of Najib's ruling party, the aide said.
The minister's husband is chairman of the embattled National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) and their three children are also involved with the organisation, although the minister re-iterated she had no role in it herself.
The NFC was given a 250 million ringgit (US$83 million) government loan to accelerate beef production in Malaysia, but came under fire when an auditor general's report pointed out it had failed to meet its objectives.
The opposition pounced on the criticism and subsequently alleged Shahrizat's family used corporation funds to make purchases for personal reasons, including luxury condominiums in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore.
NFC officials have denied improper dealings and defended the property investments as ways to bring in "greater returns" for the project.
Police are investigating the corporation.
Allegations of corruption against ruling coalition politicians are common in Malaysia but it is rare for them to have any repercussions.
But with Najib expected to seek a fresh mandate soon, he can ill afford negative publicity, which the opposition has been exploiting.
When Najib took office in 2009, after the Barisan Nasional lost its long-held two-thirds parliamentary majority in elections a year earlier, he pledged to clamp down on corruption in a bid to win back voters.
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