Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said that Felda has been encouraged to find its own income to enable it to become financially independent.

“Felda has never deviated from its original path. It has from the start helped to uplift society and given land to the landless Malays to increase their income,” Ismail Sabri told reporters here today.

“Felda’s doing business does not mean that it has deviated from its original goal. Felda used to depend on the government for financial aid when it was first established.”

Ismail Sabri was responding to TMJ’s post on the Johor Southern Tigers’ Facebook page yesterday criticising Felda for using money meant for settlers to “enrich certain contractors within Felda”.

Asked about the current title battle between his team Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) and Felda United, in the Malaysian Super League, TMJ jokingly answered: “How do you expect us to compete with Datuk Seri Najib’s team?”

His answer seemed to take on a more serious tone however, when he spoke of his pride in building JDT without using “money which belongs to the people”.

“I am not building a stadium using money meant for the settlers or money from contractors lobbying for jobs within Felda.

“This (Felda) is a clear case of taking money from the poor. To me, even PDRM and ATM should not be fielding a team as they are also funded by the government,” TMJ said.

JDT currently tops the Malaysian Super League with 39 points while Felda United are in second place, just two points behind.

JDT beat Felda United 2-1 in March, playing in Johor Baru, with the return league match, a possible title decider, scheduled for Aug 24 in Jengka, Pahang.