Some 550 Felda settlers in Bera, Pahang, today filed a lawsuit against Felda - the Federal Land Development Authority - for cheating them on payments for their oil palm produce.

Lawyer Nasar Khan, when contacted, said the group was not satisfied with the distribution and palm oil extraction rate set by three Felda factories since 1995.

"We have also filed a lawsuit over fruit bunches that were rejected but still processed by Felda, without making any payment.

"Maybe the fruit quality was not as good, but why process it then? That means Felda is taking the fruits free of charge from the settlers," Nasar said.

He said the settlers were paid according to global prices but this was based on fruit grades that were determined by Felda - normally at an oil extraction rate of 18 to 19 percent.

'Felda not transparent'

"But it (Felda) is not transparent. When we send (the fruits) to the lab, it says the oil extraction rate is more than 25 percent. This is Felda's own lab, not an external lab," he said.

Nasar said the settlers were also demanding payment for produce from the palm kernel, but were yet to estimate the amount they would seek from Felda.

"For 2008 alone, we estimate the total claim to be as much as RM19 million," he said, adding that the amount may vary year-to-year over the last 16 years.

The settlers also want Felda to hand over documents relating to its payment calculation methods, global pricing and palm oil quantity since 2005.

The latest suit is part of a string of other suits against Felda following a landmark case last year, in which the court ordered Felda to pay RM11 million for similar fraud charges.