your say 'Not in this generation. But maybe the next. Until then, Umno can bank on its ‘be thankful we gave it to you' card.'

PAS fighting losing battle in Felda

Faz: Felda is the metamorphosis of very poor Malays ( kais pagi, makan pagi; kais petang, makan petang ) with nothing, uprooted and implanted in a new place with the promise of a better future.

They got the deal of their lifetime and come out of condemned poverty into orderly living with assets and money to spare. With total indoctrination from the MSM (mainstream media), the Felda management and Umno-BN, their faith in the present power structure is unshakable, regardless of what others tell them.

So, let them die with their beliefs as they are not totally wrong. Pakatan Rakyat, please focus on the second and later generations who are better educated, better upbringing and with better access to the mod-cons (modern conveniences) of life.

These groups can make changes to the political landscape, later. The seed of change must be planted now.

Azizi Khan: Felda is not ready for change. Not in this generation. Maybe the next. Until then, Umno can bank on its ‘be thankful we gave it to you' card. Land issues and other social ills in Felda hasn't peaked. Landowners get significant cash due to high commodity prices so they are callous about political changes.

As they see it, their kids get free education. Many are university or college graduates. They can't speak English, and end up selling burgers somewhere. Still decent. No need to rock the boat and bite the hand that feeds them.

The original settlers are also staunch Umno and ‘ketuanan' supporters. They see Umno as their boss, their saviour, their lord and their God. For them, so long as some Malays are rich, it doesn't have to be them.

All these things have to change. And it's not going to happen unless there is a desperation. The Malays don't have their TBH (Teoh Beng Hock)... yet. Without a need for change, nothing will happen.

Docs: Political pundits, be they seasoned political observers, politicians or common Malaysian folk, can come up with a hundred and one theories of the political landscape in West Malaysia, but one fact remains.

The fact is that the heartland Malays (Malays from the kampong, the veteran Felda settlers, the Malay folk living in small towns, pakcik and makciks from the Merdeka and post-Medeka generation) will determine the Malaysian government after GE 13.

This is evident as Umno has always "taken care" of this part of the Malaysian society. PAS has realised this and the party is trying harder to garner support from them.

Sadly this cluster of Malaysian society do not understand the terrible political shape we are in - economic meltdown, escalating inflation, poorly equipped workforce, deteriorating education levels, rampant corruption, unemployment, etc, etc.

Their vote is cast on the feel-good factors or their interest in short-term gains provided to them by political parties at the time of elections.

Anonymous_1196: How many generations, anak-anak and cucu-cucu we need to spoon feed? How many acres of land we need to provide?

We provide free land, we provide free house, we provide free education, we provide everything and yet the people still cannot survive on their own, forever it will not be enough. No wonder Malaysia is so regressive, and because of their votes, the government is not doing what is right and righting what is wrong.

Why the illicit outflow of US$290 billion, why FDI (foreign direct investments) is low, why MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) can't attract talents, not even our own nationality back... Nah, these are the reasons!

Mohd: I have been to several Felda areas over the years. Sadly, what I see is very sad and a cause for concern. Many of the second and even third generations are comprised of people who are not that well-educated or feel a bit "off balanced" when they go to city areas.

If people go through some of the Felda areas in the country, you will see posters for small concert all over the places. I guess it is fine if they want entertainment but it is a continuous affair and when we look at the level of education and moral decay in many of these areas, it starts to dawn on you that this younger generation, if not guided properly, will not only become unproductive but will be (or maybe already is) a menace to the society.

My take on this is that the more these second and third generation remain uneducated and ignorant, chances are they will continue to support BN.

Armour Man: Well, what to do? Give the Felda settlers 10 acres each and one generation latter, it is not enough. Give them jobs (as planters) and they say job opportunities are scarce. Yet they hire foreign workers to do the work.

The community is wrought with social ills. The BN govenment and Felda management has cheated them by buying their oil at lower price, still they vote for BN. How can one help people who will not help themselves?

Anonymous_5fb: Peneroka-penoraka Felda harus fikir masak-masak sama ada Umno itu benar-benar secara ikhlas hendak menolong mereka atau setakat memancing undi supaya dapat menang dalam pilihanraya kecil Tenang ini.

Sejarah Felda dimulakan dari zaman Tun Abdul Razak Hussein. Hingga sekarang, siapa yang benar-benar untung sejak dari masa itu? Cubalah ingat kembali semua ini sebelum anda pangkah pada kertas undi, demi masa depan anda dan juga seluruh Malaysia.

Bagi saya, kalau saya adalah anda, saya akan memberi undi kepada PAS kerana sebagai sebahagian Pakatan, mereka menonjolkan impian politik yang lebih saksama dan adil untuk kebajikan kita semua, bukan saja segelompok rakyat yang digemari oleh Umno saja.

Kit P: No doubt, the Felda settlers struggled in the early days, and deserved the assistance they got. Nevertheless, after 40 years, they are among the most passive and mollycoddled group in the country.

Everyone is waiting for ‘bantuan Felda' or ‘bantuan kerajaan'. It will be very tough for PAS or PKR to make inroads there. They can't change the message without changing what they stand for - and that will hurt their standing among other voters.

Doing a better job with the message may sway a small number of fence sitters, that's about it.

Jay Tan: The last sentence in this story hit the nail on its head. Unless PAS changes their campaign strategy, there is no way it can make inroads into the Felda areas. So PAS, if you're reading this analysis, please immediately change your strategy.

 

 

 

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