Salwani Tajuddin, 37, of Kampung Felda Bukit Goh, said that many villagers had become instant millionaires, after leasing their land, but their lives seemed to be listless.

“Indeed some of them have led a life of luxury after receiving high deposits from the bauxite operators but the money can only last for a while and they have to wait a long time to get their returns from the bauxite mining.

“There are settlers who are now forced to be security guards as their money is already spent and their oil palm land completely cleared to obtain bauxite,” she said.

Salwani said early last year, she was approached by a man who offered her a deposit of RM500,000 to mine bauxite on her four-hectare smallholding, which she rejected.

The man came back a few days later with a higher bid of RM1 million.

“After I turned down the RM1 million offer, the man was furious and said I was ‘stupid’ for rejecting that much money.

“But to me those who lease their land to the bauxite operators are the real losers as the money can only last for a while and their land will not return to its previous condition,” she said.

As a settler there for the last 18 years, Salwani said she did not want her oil palm to be affected by the bauxite mining activities.

She said the same man had approached her a few months later asking to use her land as a stockpile area for lorries and bauxite ore. He offered payment of RM5,000 a month, but she turned it down.

Her father, Tajuddin Harun, 68, who runs a food stall at Kampung Felda Bukit Goh, said the bauxite operators did not fulfil their promise to provide a monthly compensation of RM1,000 for every trader and RM500 for every house.

Tajuddin said he only received a compensation of RM1,000 in November.

“Instead business is affected as not many customers are patronising our stalls due to the dust from the lorries carrying the bauxite and I am forced to fork out RM6,000 to install this canvas (to cover my stall),” he added.

-BERNAMA