RM10 billion to 'bail out' FELDA, or is just FELDA Settlers? The announcement by PM Anwar comes just before the upcoming State Elections - so was this an abuse of Federal government monies and/or power to woo voters in upcoming elections? It would have been better if such announcements were made when there were no upcoming elections....
QUESTION - Bailing out FELDA Settlers, or FELDA? They are 2 different matters - Remember that FELDA by itself has plantations and various businesses, which really have nothing to do directly with FELDA SETTLERS.
FELDA SETTLERS - well, they are the about 120,000 persons in poverty who were chosen in the past - and given land to plant crops(Rubber/Oil Palm?...), and whilst they cleared the land and waited for their crops to generate income, they were provided 'loans' and assistance including houses and more land. When their crops were ready to be harvested, income started flowing. Settlers paid off their debts, being the advances provided, and made income. Hence, the program provided the poor LAND, skills and opportunity for them to get out of poverty and become self-sufficient for the future. Initially the land was not given to them, but after demands, the land was transferred to them with attached conditions about usage and transfer to heirs.
Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) was formed on 1 July 1956 under the Land Development Ordinance (now Land Development Act), with an objective to eradicate poverty by developing land through the cultivation of cash crops. ...
The first Felda colony was opened at Lurah Bilut, near Bentong in western Pahang in 1958, comprising 2946.88ha of land and focused on rubber.
Since the 1990s, it has not established new settlements
It is sad that the FELDA settlers program ended in 1990s - it was a GOOD program to eradicate poverty.
From news reports, the DEBT for which the government is allocating RM10 Billion is the FELDA settlers debt...not FELDA's debt?
So, the question is HOW come the FELDA SETTLERS, who at one time was considered M40 or even upper middle class, looking at their lifestyle and the cars they used ended up in DEBT?
Comparatively, other rubber/oil palm smallholders, without any 'government assistance' seems to be doing well - surviving.
SO INVESTIGATE, why did the FELDA Settlers acquire debt?
Is the blame to lie on the Felda Settler? Did they become lazy, and decided to expend money unwisely? Did they receive bad advise from FELDA? Did they decide to get 'others' to do the work on their plantations - like tapping/harvesting, weeding, fertilizing, etc? Were they 'advised' or 'recommended' by FELDA or some 'officers' to do so?
There must be an investigation as to WHY did they end up indebted - The action of government 'bailing out' or 'settling their debt' simply is not a solution - It creates a CULTURE of irresponsibility...
There were suggestions that this may have been 'planned' - after all, the FELDA Settler who is able to break free from poverty, debts and become self sustainable may no longer be 'manipulated' by parties seeking their votes, but if they are still in poverty and indebted, then promises of debt reduction or settlement by certain parties or even government of the day may ensure continued support to get needed votes come elections.
As we know, Malays that have escaped poverty and is self-sufficient tend to VOTE smartly and independently - but then, those in poverty can easily be manipulated and will vote who will be able to give them aid, settle their debts, get them low-cost homes, etc... So, government of the day always benefit from poverty and suffering, and today it is Anwar's 'unity government' that has Federal power...The practice of using the poor must end, to be replaced with a sincere desire to eliminate poverty irrespective of party membership, ethnicity, etc...
Noting that majority of settlers are Malay, it is most SAD if there is any truth that they were kept poor simply for political purposes of certain parties in government..SO, Investigate the reasons for such a large DEBT - almost RM10 Billion.
Should we have a Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI) or the government comes up with a WHITE PAPER giving everyone a proper EXPLANATION. We need to find out the problems - and make sure that FELDA Settlers are self-sufficient and will no longer need government aid/assistance to survive.
A recent Utusan report alleges that some FELDA Settlers allege that they never received Statement(or details) of debt for years. Is this true?
They say that the debt is because they have to pay for operation cost, cost of harvesting, cost of transport, cost of fertilizers and cost of agricultural road maintenance? Apparently, FELDA deducts all the cost before paying the Settlers the profit from the monthly sales.
Antara kos yang perlu dibayar adalah kos operasi, tuai, angkut buah, baja dan kos membaiki jalan pertanian....Difahamkan semua kos terbabit merupakan hutang peneroka kerana ia dipotong terlebih dahulu oleh Felda sebelum baki sebenar diberikan kepada warga tanah rancangan itu...Ketua Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan, Sulong Jamil Mohamed Shariff berkata, setiap kos terbabit berbeza kadar bayarannya.“Kos operasi antara RM250 ke RM300 satu tan metrik, kos baja RM800 ke RM900 sebulan.“Jika ditambah semua kos tersebut, purata kadar potongan setiap peneroka antara RM1,000 ke RM2,000 seorang,” katanya.
But then, how can other non-FELDA smallholders be doing better than FELDA Settlers. Are FELDA Settlers being 'overcharged' by FELDA or the companies chosen by FELDA?
Even companies involved in Plantation business are able to pay shareholders dividends...
Something is AMISS with regard FELDA Settlers. Are the debts accrued due to a lavish lifestyle leaving beyond their means? All this must be investigated.
By reason of the drop of the Ringgit and the growing cost of living, many Malaysians (not just FELDA Settlers) have accrued debts - so, why is the government only bailing out FELDA Settlers?
One action that Anwar did was to remove the Chairman of FELDA, and appoint a new Chairman being Ahmad Shabery Cheek. Why did Anwar wait until end of June? Will Idris Jusoh be compensated for his early removal.
Tan Sri Idris Jusoh will step down as the chairman of Felda effective June 30. He terms ends next in May next year.
Nothing was said about Idris Jusoh's failings that led to the debts of FELDA Settlers - was he removed because of his failures? Blame must lie somewhere - and if it was FELDA, then Idris Jusoh must take responsibilty and apologize >>> Did his failure cost us to spend RM10 Billion to 'bail out' these Settlers?
This is the problem with 'POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS' of politicians, persons who may lack in skills and understanding of the agricultural businesses. It is best to appoint PROFESSIONALS.
Anyway, Shabery Cheek is a good man, and we HOPE he will clean up FELDA - including doing a detailed investigation to identify the failures in policy and practice that caused FELDA Settlers to fall into debt > requiring government to step in with RM10 billion.
Hutang peneroka Felda: Ada kos tertentu perlu dibayar
- Oleh MOHAMAD SHOFI MAT ISA dan AIMUNI TUAN LAH
- 14 Julai 2023, 8:00 am
KUANTAN: Tiada peneroka Felda di 317 tanah rancangan di negara ini akan bebas daripada berhutang kerana setiap bulan ada kos-kos tertentu perlu dibayar mereka yang ditolak daripada bayaran gaji.
Antara kos yang perlu dibayar adalah kos operasi, tuai, angkut buah, baja dan kos membaiki jalan pertanian.
Difahamkan semua kos terbabit merupakan hutang peneroka kerana ia dipotong terlebih dahulu oleh Felda sebelum baki sebenar diberikan kepada warga tanah rancangan itu.
Bercakap kepada Utusan Malaysia, Ketua Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan, Sulong Jamil Mohamed Shariff berkata, setiap kos terbabit berbeza kadar bayarannya.
“Kos operasi antara RM250 ke RM300 satu tan metrik, kos baja RM800 ke RM900 sebulan.
“Jika ditambah semua kos tersebut, purata kadar potongan setiap peneroka antara RM1,000 ke RM2,000 seorang,” katanya.
Jelasnya, sukar untuk warga peneroka Felda bebas daripada belenggu hutang.
“Selagi berada di tanah rancangan dan bersama Felda, setiap bulan akan hutang yang perlu dibayar dan kadarnya berbeza setiap peneroka,” katanya.
Ditanya adakah masih ada rungutan warga peneroka tentang keraguan potongan hutang yang dibuat Felda, beliau berkata, ada rungutan.
Dalam pada itu, lebih 200 peneroka di Felda Perasu dekat Gua Musang, Kelantan mendakwa, mereka masih membuat pembayaran hutang RM200 ke RM300 setiap bulan meskipun kerajaan janjikan hutang Felda berjumlah RM8.3 bilion sudah dilupuskan sejak dua tahun lalu.
Beberapa peneroka mendakwa, mereka tidak pernah menerima sebarang penyata hutang sejak mendiami rancangan tanah itu lebih 35 tahun lalu.
Seorang peneroka, Mohamad Zin Hassan, 73, berkata, kebanyakan
peneroka di kawasan itu ketika ini bingung dan tidak faham tentang
status hutang mereka. – Utusan Malaysia, 14/7/2023
Anwar: How did I clear Felda’s debt if Muhyiddin already did it?
KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today rejected Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s claim that the latter had already waived Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers’ billions of ringgit in debt.
Earlier, former PM Muhyiddin accused Anwar of lying to claim credit for the financial restructuring that would see the majority of the RM8.3 billion amassed by Felda settlers being forgiven.
“I just signed it at the end of June... and so how can you say you completed it in 2021?
“Completed where?” he asked at a ‘Temu Anwar’ event in Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah.
Yesterday, Anwar announced that his government has approved an annual allocation of up to RM1 billion for 10 years to ensure Felda’s sustainability.
In the video clip of the event shared online by Astro Awani today, Anwar said that while there had been an agreement during the Perikatan Nasional administration, the restructuring was notably absent from Budget 2021 and Budget 2022.
“Only in the Madani Budget in November 2023 did I start to set aside RM990 million as an early allocation to dispose of Felda’s settlers’ debts which total RM8.3 billion,” he said.
He said he also announced further assistance for the Felda settlers, including yesterday when he approved the installation of streetlights in Felda land.
Earlier today, in a posting to his Facebook account, Muhyiddin claimed that he had disposed of Feld settlers' debts in 2021 when he was the prime minister.
"However, due to Felda’s cash flow constraints, the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional government was unable to carry out settlement of settler debts continuously,” he said, and accused Anwar of lying about the matter.
Yesterday, national news agency Bernama reported that the federal government had approved an annual allocation of RM1 billion per year for the next decade to ensure Felda’s survival.
Anwar,
who is also the finance minister, attributed the delay in distribution
for the Felda sukuk loan was previously due to the government needing to
meet its commitments in delivering its stimulus packages. - Malay Mail, 8/7/2023
Idris Jusoh removed as Felda Chairman
21 Jun 2023 05:15pm
Idris Jusoh
SHAH ALAM - Tan Sri Idris Jusoh will step down as the chairman of Felda effective June 30. He terms ends next in May next year.
"I have received the decision from the Prime Minister's office to step down from my position as the Chairman of Felda," said the former Terengganu chief minister in his Facebook post.
Idris, who was appointed to the post on May 2020 said the decision was made to pave the way for the national leadership to appoint a more suitable successor.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the Anwar for giving me the opportunity to hold this position under his leadership.
"I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to all settlers, Felda staff and everyone who has cooperated with me during my service here," he said.
Idris was also the former education minister. - Sinar Daily, 21/6/2023
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