Last month, a Malaysian politician addressed a press conference sitting next to a cardboard cut-out of a googly-eyed cow with "Aus $20 million" emblazoned on its back.

The media event staged by MP Violet Yong was designed to draw attention to a deal behind the purchase of a cattle station in the Northern Territory.

In May, the investment arm of Malaysia's Sarawak state, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), bought Carmor Plains, a 41,500-hectare property on the floodplains to the east of Darwin.

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SEDC paid $20 million for the station, walk-in-walk-out, with about 2,500 buffalo.

The price turned a few heads in the Top End cattle industry, given its relatively small size for a NT property, and because last time it changed hands back in 2001, it sold for just $2.8 million.

Since learning about the sale, the main opposition party in Sarawak has been peppering SEDC and the governing party with questions about the sale price, even threatening to lodge a report with the country's anti-corruption body.

James Chin, director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania, said members of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) had raised the issue in the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly.

"They have asked the Government to investigate if the price of [Carmor Plains] was inflated," Mr Chin said.

"But so far, the Sarawak state Government has not replied to the queries."

Carmor Plains has about 24,000 hectares of marine and freshwater floodplains, populated with about 2,500 buffalo at the time of its sale. ( ABC Rural: Matt Brann )

Opposition ramping up pressure before election

With the Sarawak state headed towards an election next year, Mr Chin said the Opposition party was trying to make the most of questions surrounding the deal.

"There is a possibility that the current Government, which has been in power since 1970, may be tossed out," he said.

"There has been a lot of corruption [accusations] against this Government, and if the Opposition can clearly prove overpayment [in the Carmor Plains sale], and that some members of the Government benefited from this transaction, then this will become a major issue.

"But right now, there is no clear evidence that any people in Sarawak benefited from this transaction."

Ms Yong also criticised SEDC for not driving down beef prices despite monopolising beef imports in Sarawak.

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ABC Rural understands SEDC tried to keep its purchase of Carmor Plains quiet, initially not responding to questions about the transaction.

But after the Opposition kept pushing the issue, chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Husain defended the investment, saying the station would complement SEDC's other NT asset, Rosewood Station.

"We think Carmor Plains is a fantastic buy for us," Mr Abdul Aziz told Malaysian media.

"Because of that, we'll be able to expand our operations by increasing the number of breeders at Rosewood and fattening them in Carmor Plains.

"We estimate that we can make $1 million more this year because we have Carmor, on top of what we have already made at Rosewood."

Mr Abdul Aziz said SEDC cut a good deal for Carmor Plains, after another party bid $21.5 million.

"However, the other bidder was not able to transact the property and the agent came back to us asking us to pay $21.5 million for the property," he said.

"But I told them we had to bargain and in the end we came to a price of $20 million.

"It was a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis and all the records are there."

Ms Yong labelled Mr Abdul Aziz's response 'insincere' and demanded further details about the nature of the loan.

In 2018, Malaysia imported just over 20,000 head of cattle from Australia.