According to Zulkarnain, 55, who runs a stall selling drinks and snacks, since Pakatan Harapan (PH) took the reins and the price of palm oil tanked, many Felda settlers have been so hard hit they have had to venture away to find work in order to make ends meet.

“The moment PH took over, palm oil prices plunged. In the past, when prices dropped settlers still managed to get RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month. It has never been as bad as it is now,” he told FMT.

The Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) created the Sungai Koyan guarded village in 1975 during the communist insurgency. Felda’s “4D” watchword for its settlers was “duduk diam dapat duit”, or “sit still and get money”, and the settlers did well out of it.

“Back then, settlers could get about RM8,000 worth of palm oil returns every month,” said Zulkarnain.

“Now, they can barely make RM1,000. After deducting utility bills, what’s left for food?

“And there’s very little other work around here. Some have gone to Kuala Lumpur, some are working part-time on farms.”

Sungai Koyan was the last “black area” in 1975 and the government felt that there was a need to protect the people from being influenced by the communists.

It’s divided into three sub-villages: Koyan 1, where the civilian settlers lived, and Koyan 2 and 3 which were for retired army personnel.

“The ex-military men also became settlers,” said Zulkarnain, “Which made a total of about nine thousand settlers.”

Three generations now live in Sungai Koyan. Zulkarnain is a second-generation settler.

“The Felda settlers were well taken care of under the former administration. We never had to worry about not having enough to support our family because the government was constantly funnelling aid to the less fortunate.

“But now, even a small-time stall owner like me is feeling the impact of the palm oil price drop. In good times, people ordered iced Nescafe or Milo. Now, to save money they order ‘teh o’ or ‘kopi o’.

“The aid has stopped. I’m not sure if it will resume. It is especially needed now that the settlers are earning much less than before,” he said.

When asked how he viewed the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-election, Zulkarnain said the people in his village were disappointed with the current government.

“Last week, when one of the ministers came, not many of us went to listen to him speak. People are angry and disappointed with the government for breaking the promises they made before the general election.

“If you tell the people that you need a year or two to fulfil your promises, people will understand. But now this government has said outright that they will not be able to do some of the things they promised,” he said.

“I don’t really care that the government changed from BN to PH. I just want our current government to do better. The ministers must do their part, otherwise how can they expect us to support them?

“Sungai Koyan used to be such a nice place to live,” he said. “Now everyone is really frustrated.”

The village has traditionally been a BN stronghold. Asked whether all Felda settlers still support BN, Zulkarnain said not all, but a majority of them are still loyal.

“Even before Najib Razak’s time, the government helped us a lot. We’re happy to know that he is coming to visit us. He has done a lot for us,” said Zulkarnain. “I was shocked on May 9 when I heard that PH had defeated BN.”

Sceptical of the current leadership, Zulkarnain said he had noticed a change in Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“I started working before he became prime minister the first time around. He has changed – his principles have changed, how he thinks has changed.

“That is one reason why people who experienced his leadership before are unsure whether he will be able to manage the country well now,” he said.

Shahran Hadar, 74, another Felda settler, ex-serviceman and current people’s representative, said, “Before, if the price of palm oil dropped, the BN government stepped in and we didn’t lose much money. But since PH took over, we make half what we did.”

Regarding the by-election, Shahran said he would remain loyal to BN. “But Sungai Koyan has changed. BN used to have around 90% support but that has dropped drastically. In the general election they only got about 50% of the votes. Over 40% here now support PH.”

Zainol Abidin Abdul, 60, a second-generation settler said the drop in palm oil prices was to be expected. “Palm oil prices fluctuate, like any commodity. It just happened that the price was low when PH won. It does not mean that they caused the price drop,” he said.

A longtime supporter of DAP, Zainol said he had never voted for BN.

On Jan 26, he and 32,007 others will decide who will be their new MP.

These are difficult times for Sungai Koyan settlers but it seems that elections may at last be getting cleaner and more meaningful.

Zainol appears optimistic.

“Finally, people have become braver about using their right to choose.”