Pakatan Harapan’s aim to sway Felda voters to their side is just a pipe dream, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

That dream will not happen because Felda voters have the utmost trust in the Umno-BN coalition to look out for their interests, Salleh said.

“With the support of Felda voters for the ruling government, it is a difficult task for Pakatan Harapan to win Felda seats in the 14th general election.

“This is because of the gratitude towards the ruling party, as led by Umno, which has given them financial aid, subsidies, yearly bonuses while looking out for their welfare and many other forms of aid.

“This gratitude gives them the confidence that the ruling party is the best party to govern the country.

“With the confidence, the Felda voters have towards the ruling party, Pakatan Harapan’s hope to gain a foothold in Felda is just a dream,” Salleh said in a blog posting today.

Felda voters realise that supporting Pakatan Harapan would damage their future, he added.

He pointed out that Felda settlements have traditionally been BN strongholds, as shown in the 13th general election.

In the last general election, the percentage of Felda voters who voted for Umno-BN was significantly large, he said, citing examples such as 92 percent in Sabah, 86 percent in Johor and 78 percent in Perlis and many others.

However, Felda has been plagued by issues lately, such as the leadership tussle at Felda Global Ventures last month between its then chairperson Mohd Isa Samad and CEO Zakaria Arshad.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raided a Felda office on Tuesday, seizing three boxes believed to contain documents pertaining to a luxury hotel purchased in London by  Felda Investment Corporation (FIC).

Pakatan Harapan has been trying to woo Felda voters, especially its newest member Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), which has been positioning itself as the conduit for Malay support for the opposition.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, former deputy president of Umno, had said that his party intends to focus on Felda settlements leading up to the next general election.