Felda is taking on debt in order to afford the RM66.7 million in bonus it has promised to its settlers, claims PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli.

The Pandan MP said this was because Felda and its subsidiaries had recorded an operational loss of RM1.4 billion in 2014, and were likely to have performed just as badly in 2015 and 2016.

"Felda is not in a cash position to pay this bonus," Rafizi said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Felda chairperson Isa Samad had on Dec 30 announced the bonus payment of between RM300 and RM800 each to 95,683 settlers.

Malaysiakini had reached out to Isa for his response to Rafizi's claim.

Rafizi added that Felda would be accumulating even more debt if it proceeded with the purchase of a 37 percent stake in Indonesian plantation Eagle High for a premium.

He said if these debts can't be paid, all Malaysians would be affected.

"If these debts can't be paid the public will have to pay for it. Settlers and all Malaysians will be affected," he said.

In light of Felda's dismal financial situation, Rafizi repeated his call for Isa to step down as chairperson.

The PKR lawmaker also revealed that he would be going on a roadshow in Felda settlements starting this Sunday at Felda Trolak in Perak.

The theme of the roadshow will be "Felda tergadai" (Felda at stake), and will explain current issues to settlers.

The Felda settlements, he said, were located in many constituencies where BN won with just a marginal lead thanks to support from settlers.

However, he said this sentiment was slowly shifting in favour of the opposition.