The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) has pledged to investigate alleged mismanagement by the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda), which has caused settlers to incur  debts.

NONE Suhakam will meet with the Felda management and visit the affected estates to begin its investigations into the settlers' disgruntlement and woes, Suhakam commissioner Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said today.

"It seems that the performance of Felda's subsidiary is very disappointing," he told a press conference at the Suhakam headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, after receiving complaints from about a dozen settlers from Johor.

The settlers were led by PAS-linked NGO Persatuan Anak Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) president Mazlan Aliman.

Bringing dozens of photographs with them, the settlers claimed that Felda and its subsidiaries had failed to carry out, among other things, replanting of oil palm.

This has led to delays in income and forced them into obtaining loans from the government agency.

According to Rahman Kai NONE mi (right) , a settler from Nitar 2 Felda settlement in Mersing, the agency has taken more than a year to plant the oil palm seedlings. The process of replanting the 1,800-acre estate owned by 180 settlers has not been completed even after two years.

Mazlan explained that, due to insufficient funds, the settlers had surrendered their land to the agency to carry out the replanting.

During the process, the settlers are losing income. Felda is temporarily giving them a monthly living-cost loan ranging between RM1,000 and RM1,500, until the trees are ready to be harvested.

The loan is however subject to annual interest of 6.5 percent.

"The longer the replanting process takes, the higher the loan will be," said Mazlan before showing a settler's loan statement of RM91,000 due to the delay in replanting.

"Some settlers lost their patience so they have reclaimed the land and carried out the replanting themselves. Then they demanded compensation but Felda refused to pay. It, in turn, questioned their action to reclaim the land," he said.

Photographs taken by the settlers showed that their land has turned into scrub and that the seedlings are covered with weeds.

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The settlers have also faced other problems as a result of alleged Felda's incompetency and mismanagement.

NONE Among others, Rahman claimed that there is no nursery in the estate in the Nitar 2 scheme; the seedlings supplied by Felda came without soil and plastic bags; there zinc plates were not installed to protect seedlings although this was stated in the scope of work; and the seedlings stolen were reported as having been destroyed by monkeys.

"The electric fencing surrounding the estate has no electricity. If you don't believe me, you can go and hold it. I am not lying to you, you won't die," said the angry settler.

Mazlan claimed that Felda settlers nationwide face the same problems, but that the management has been turning a deaf ear to their woes despite complaints lodged with the authority and memorandum being sent to top leaders including the premier.

NONE Sha'ani, who was a Felda employee for 23 years, said he recognises the complaints and promised to probe the matter.

"From the photographs, it seems like Felda's solution is delayed. You can clearly see the scrub has grown higher than a human," he said.

The consumer activist pointed out that there is a lack of check and balance in Felda’s management as the community leaders of settlements, who are supposed to voice out the settlers' interests and rights, are appointed by the management.

"This is the basic weakness of the Felda management... Felda's vision is to empower settlers to take over the agency's operation. But now they are made to become settlers without vision so they will continue to rely on certain quarters," he commented.

 

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