In a move that could prove rewarding for Pakatan Rakyat in the next general election, the Selangor government is seeking to give the state’s 10,000 Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers more autonomy by moving them out of the agency’s jurisdiction.

NONE According to lawyer and Subang parliamentarian R Sivarasa, Section 44 of the Group Settlement Arrears Act 1960 (GSA) gives the state powers to end the group settlement plan and to return the land to the state.

"The Act also allows the state to stipulate the terms for this to happen. So this will need to be discussed further as it would involve consultation with the settlers, especially in figuring out what scheme will be in place once they are out of Felda," he said.

Speaking today on the sidelines of a Selangor Felda Taskforce workshop on the matter, he said that by taking the settlers out of the GSA, any agreement they have with Felda will be considered void.

This is because Felda's powers are derived from the same Act.

azlan The move would be favourable to settlers who now complain about lopsided terms, he said.

Sivarasa added that, while the law requires consultation with the minister in charge of Felda affairs, the latter’s approval is not compulsory.

In addition, the Selangor government has moved to expedite the issuance of land grants to settlers and has alienated 13 hectares of land in Felda Soeharo Hulu Selangor to build low-cost housing for second-generation settlers.

Both these moves are in accordance with Section 10 of the Act. 

'No political ploy’

Selangor's Felda settlements are located in Hulu Selangor, and the settlers' staunch support for BN was seen to be among the reasons for PKR's loss in the by-election there last year.

NONE Mazlan Aliman (right) , who heads the Felda settlers' rights NGO Anak, believes that the Selangor government's move will win Pakatan more votes.

"If Selangor can do this, then we can expect a shift in the votes of the second-generation Felda settlers who are now made to work as labourers on their fathers' plantations," he said.

Mazlan said Felda settlements make up large portions of 40 parliamentary areas.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, however, denied that this is a political move, despite the partisan nature of the taskforce.

"This is an opportunity for Selangor...there is a chance, so we do it, because I have been elected by the people to do it and it I don't, there (would be) something wrong with me.

"Of course it will gain us support, but whether or not it does, we will still do it, even without the general election" he said of the taskforce which began work about a year ago.

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