He said people are concerned as Felda’s reputation had been marred by scandals and misappropriation of funds.
1. He proposed that a Royal Commission of Inquiry be set up as soon as possible to look into Felda’s finances and leakage of funds.
He said the Auditor-General’s Report for 2016 showed that Felda had suffered a net loss of RM1.3 billion, with debts of RM6 billion.
2. The government should carry out a study to determine the future of Felda Global Ventures, the listed agricultural and agri-commodities company which is the world’s biggest produced of palm oil. Felda has a substantial 33% shareholding.
“Carry out a study: should it be continued or its operations ended, and plantation land returned to Felda instead of leasing it to the company for 99 years from 2012.”
3. Introduce a new replanting scheme to help Felda settlers burdened with debts, some of as much as RM100,000 each. “The high debts have affected the settlers income,” he said.
4. Terminate the services of Felda Technoplant Sdn Bhd, a Felda subsidiary in charge of replantation exercises. The management should be returned to Felda’s cooperative, as many settlers had become heavily indebted.
5. Revive abandoned housing projects for youths from Felda settlements. The previous government had promised to build 20,000 homes, but 11,000 are yet to be constructed and another 8,000 homes had been abandoned.
6 End any lopsided replanting agreements.
Kamarul Zaman: It will take more than just Raya handouts to reinvent Felda
An independent political analyst, Kamarul Zaman Yusoff, reminded the Pakatan Harapan government of its manifesto promises to clear the debts of Felda settlers, which arose when they borrowed money from the government to replant or harvest the oil palm plantations.
He, too, called for a royal inquiry to ascertain Felda’s real problems.
Felda’s past forays into buying properties in London and Indonesia should be re-examined, as well as the scandal involving land sale in Jalan Semarak. “These are the things that need to be investigated immediately so that Felda could recover the money,” he added.
Last year news reports said Felda was at risk of losing ownership of the Jalan Semarak land in Kuala Lumpur, valued at about RM200 million, because of a land transfer after Felda Investment Corporation appointed a local company as primary developer of the land.
Kamarul Zaman said Felda should also have a professional board of directors and chairman, and Felda settlers given a place on the board so that their voice is heard.
“They are after all the main stakeholders of Felda and are affected if FGV shares go down.”
He said it was pointless to give the setters a RM500 cash handout during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. A lot more could be done by the government.