One Felda or two?

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Are they for the eyes only? — File photo

THERE is only one Felda (Federal Land Development Authority) in the country. Wrong! In the peninsula, there are peneroka (settlers) in its oil palm schemes; in the East, there are none. In that sense, there are two Feldas.

Some 50 miles from Kuching, in its schemes at Sempadi in Lundu, there is not a single peneroka. Believe you me.

But that was not what the people in Lundu were told in 1987. There would be settlers all right, and there would be facilities similar to what the settlers in Peninsular Malaysia were getting, assured the then Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Dr Mahathir had flown in an RMAF helicopter from Kuching to Lundu, to launch the Rancangan Tanah Rakyat (People’s Land Scheme). Not far from the Dayak village of Senibong, he landed by the roadside on a spot marked ‘LP’, which had been cleared out of the jungle by the Army boys the previous day.

A large crowd made up of local dignitaries had been waiting for him for a few hours in the hot sun, some in the popular apparel of the period – the bush jacket – the old folk were sweating in their woollen suits made during the colonial days, others in white nylon shirts – all struggling for fresh air. I chose a place under the trees, watching the proceedings with high expectations: here was an excellent project that would bring income to an impoverished community of shifting cultivators.

Undaunted, their hopes, and mine, were high; the PM had come to deliver development at the doorstep of the people of the area. The prospect of economic development was all that mattered to them, never mind the heat.

From the speeches they heard about thousands of Malay families in the peninsula who had been resettled in the various schemes, since the 1960s. The peneroka were progressing well, though they had been uprooted from their villages and transplanted into regimented settlements, enjoying an eight-acre plot of land planted with rubber or palm oil, and two acres of land for fruit trees or vegetables, and living in a new house. In every scheme, facilities like a clinic, surau, grocery shops, and administrative office were the norm. At the same time, they retained their rights to the land and house that they had left behind in the old villages. It was a very good deal for the Malays of Semenanjung. Their economic future was assured.

The speeches done, everybody clapped! Then the VIP flew away.

One day, Dr M should return to the area and see for himself what he had wanted done for the people. He would be disappointed.

Puteh Mata (for the eyes only)

Since then, the schemes have produced tons of palm oil for the world market. During the good days within the past 20 years or so, the palm oil from Sempadi (5,000 plus ha) must have earned millions of ringgit for Felda’s coffers, in addition to profits from its many other projects in the peninsula and overseas. However, for the locals in Lundu, it is an example of Puteh Mata (for their eyes only).

Felda is so successful, financially loaded. It has a controlling share in its own company, the FGV (Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd) on land given by state governments.

When FGV was listed on the KL Stock Exchange in 2013, each share was worth RM4.60, but since February 2013, its price has slumped. That is worrying. Hopefully, the situation will eventually improve now that some new faces are manning the store.

We don’t want Felda to fail, do we? There will be millions of settlers who hold interests not only in the co-operatives but also in the authority itself. Political fixed deposits, they are.

Tun Razak, who was largely responsible for its creation under the auspices of the Land Settlement Act 1960 and for its supervision during the period of teething problems, would be unhappy if the Malays should lose their stakes in Felda.

Four years ago, in Chuping, Perak, his son, Datuk Seri Najib, the PM, gave this assurance about Felda, “Jagalah Felda dengan baik sebab saya memegang amanah Tun Razak. Saya pernah kata, saya tidak akan menghianati Allahyarham ayahanda saya. Saya takkan buat sesuatu yang memudaratkan Felda dan masyarakatnya. Saya berpegang pada janji itu dan akan lakukan yang terbaik.”

(Take good care of Felda because I hold the trust of Tun Razak. I have been saying that I am not going to betray my late father. I will never do anything that causes losses to Felda and its community. I am holding on to that promise and will do anything that is good.”)

I hope that when next the Prime Minister comes to Lundu again, he will assure the people there that they too have a stake in the Felda schemes in Sempadi. What form of stake it is, I do not know exactly. Some form of compensation in recognition of the rights and interests, backdated to 1987, would be in order.

Why this discrimination in the first place? Could somebody explain the difference between a scheme in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sempadi, Sarawak? Please assure the owners at Stunggang, Temelan and Senibong, who have farmed some of that land for at least half a century, and which is now an oil palm plantation by Felda.

Explain now, before the claims become an issue during the forthcoming parliamentary election. During the recent by-election in Lundu, this issue was hardly raised. This time around it may be a different story. Who knows?

The PM may be invited to Lundu during the election campaign. A candidate seeking re-election may be reminded that certain parts of the areas under the schemes developed and owned by Felda might be subject to Native Customary Rights. There is some documentary evidence, if anyone wants to see it …

Why the discrimination?

A Felda official should come over here to explain. Why are the fully entitled settler-owners in Peninsular Malaysian schemes, but hired labourers from here and there in Sempadi? Both are projects under the same authority but having two sets of policies for what I would say are the same rural Malaysians. Or is there some subtle discrimination in the policy?

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