Zaid to voters: I’ll give 100% of myself
By Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
Zaid Ibrahim has no qualms about calling a spade a spade. And in a world where most prefer to call it a rake, this hasn’t won him any gold stars. But it has earned him something much better – the opportunity to be the second opposition MP for Hulu Selangor.
Named as candidate just days before official campaigning kicks off, one would assume that Zaid would be huddled with his team poring over the final details of his campaign blueprint.
But the lawyer-turned-politician confessed that he didn’t have a sophisticated strategy.
“I’ve been an MP before,” he said in an exclusive interview with FMT, referring to his one term in Kota Baru. “My strategy now is no different than it was back then. Listen to the people and resolve their issues. There is no need for any fanfare. I want to win on the basis of the people’s trust in my ability to serve them, not on any campaign promises.”
Zaid isn’t called a troubleshooter for nothing. And right now, he has a decided list of Hulu Selangor grievances that he aims to strike off one by one.
At the top of the list is land rights, especially those of settlers on Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) schemes, and of the Orang Asli.
He said Felda settlers in Hulu Selangor have suffered immensely over the last 30 years simply because Felda has not shared its wealth with them.
“There are two sides to Felda,” he said. “One involves the 180,000 settlers who work the land, earn a monthly salary and receive dividends. Then there is the corporate Felda, which is the largest plantation company in the world. It is worth RM50 billion. The problem is that there is no bridge linking the two sides.”
“Almost 80 percent of settlers are still borrowing money from Felda to cultivate Felda-owned land. Felda then imposes various charges on them, makes deductions from their proceeds and even competes with them in the sale of produce.
“At the end of the day, the settlers are left with a small income of about RM1,500 a month and a mountain of debts. This is outrageous.”
