I refer to the letter Suhakam may hold nationwide inquiry on Felda .

It is most gratifying that the settlers have finally responded to my call that they should demand for a re-structuring of Felda.

Indeed, this is of crucial significance considering that all the other almost dozen letters seemed to have become nothing more than ‘voices in the wilderness’ with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s repeatedly projecting the organisation as a success story par excellence.

This is not the place to ascertain the causes for Felda’s betrayal of its original ideology. Indeed, the best people to do this are the settlers themselves and there is no doubt that they will with the passion that only socially exploited persons can do best.

In all humility, however I would urge the leaders to get a copy of my UNDP report on the Social Impact Assessment of Felda (2002) from PM Najib.

But from the research reports and what the settlers have already said, what is most significant is that for the first time ever a ‘flagship’ for rural development can be seen as a microcosm of Malay political bureaucratic elite domination and manipulation to consolidate and enhance their interests as a class against that of the rakyaat.

The implications of this scenario comes across almost dramatically in Mariam Mokhtar’s analysis Malays are their own worst enemies .

I would add that on the basis of my own hands-on experiences over a span of some 50 years, these very same problems can be found in almost all the social institutions set up by the late Abdul Razak to uplift the standard of living of the Malays in both rural and urban areas.

Indeed, it seems clear that the way forward is to demolish Malay political elitist domination in the entire structure of society rather than worry about instituting ‘Malay counter-movements’.