PETALING JAYA: Persatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) wants Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairman Shahrir Samad to explain the measures he has taken to improve the lot of the farmers, instead of pointing fingers at his political opponents for making “false proposals” to them.
Mazlan Aliman, the president of the NGO which represents second and third generations of Felda settlers, said the core concern should be what improvements the administration under Shahrir, who is the MP for Johor Bahru, had achieved.
In an interview with Sinar Harian recently, Shahrir alleged that the opposition was trying to frighten the settlers and entice them with empty promises of a better future to gain their support in the upcoming 14th general election (GE14).
The former minister also denied that the government’s incentives for the farmers, announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak in July, were merely election “sweets”.
Mazlan today questioned the motive behind the special incentives amounting to RM5,000 for each settler.
“If this is not an election gimmick, then what is it?” he told FMT.
“The settlers’ main concern is the accumulated debts that they are burdened with. What are the avenues to resolve this problem?” he said, adding that Shahrir, who assumed the chairman’s post in January, should focus on addressing these issues.
Mazlan also took the Felda management to task for allegedly failing to ensure appropriate increments in the farmers’ revenue.
“The settlers’ monthly income is low and not proportionate with the high cost of living,” he said.
“Since each member works on his farm by himself without help from any outside party, why can’t the Felda management ensure their incomes get better?”
He also said many second-generation settlers had not seen the housing units allocated to them as the projects had been abandoned.
“There is no news on this matter,” he said, urging the authorities to rectify the situation.
On July 23, Najib announced that 94,956 eligible settler families would be given RM5,000 each, amounting to a total outlay of RM475 million by the government.
He also said additional funds amounting to over RM950 million would be used to erase the debts of the farmers by, among others, reimbursing a portion of loans taken to buy shares in Felda Global Ventures (FGV), a listed unit of Felda.
On July 28, PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin questioned the incentives, saying what Felda needed was a comprehensive recovery plan.
“The giving of incentives on a ‘one-off’ basis before the general election is not a true solution,” he said, adding that this could only bring temporary relief.
Sumber What have you done for Felda settlers, Shahrir asked