The broken dreams of Felda’s new generation
By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, The Malaysian Insider
ROMPIN, July 14 — Deep in the Pahang countryside, abandoned low-cost housing litter the pastoral surroundings of Felda Keratong while its serenity is now punctuated by the litany of complaints from a new generation of settlers.
The sons and daughters of the original pioneers of Tun Abdul Razak’s landmark programme to open up rural Malaysia to ordinary planters as part of the country’s wealth distribution policies are now disillusioned, and many feel they can no longer depend on the government to protect their welfare.
The remote settlement of Felda Keratong is just 15km from Muadzam Shah which in turn is near the state’s royal town of Pekan, which also happens to be the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
These children of the original settlers are angry with the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) because they claim local officers are only interested in protecting their own and not the interests of the people.
Surina Osman told The Malaysian Insider that the term “Felda’s second generation” is insignificant because it does not afford them any privileges.
“Felda’s second generation is only in name because we do not get anything from it,” said the 32-year-old mother.
She said Felda families are being forced to leave the plantation because they cannot find any future and opportunities in the settlement.
“The youth are jobless and have nothing to do. They come with qualifications and cannot find any jobs. They refused to work in the plantation because the pay is too low. So you end up seeing youths in plantations getting addicted to drugs,” she said.
Najib had recently announced that the government would build low-cost housing projects which are tailored for the second generation of settler families or their children.
However many of the Felda families are still not able to find homes because they cannot afford it.
Siti Roslina Ismail said her application was rejected by Felda because the officers told her that her family did not meet the criteria.
“We went to their office but they refused to entertain us. They rejected us because we do not have any pay slips. How can they expect my husband to have pay slips when he does not have a real job. He is only a basic plantation worker,” she said.
The mother of five added that the officers would only accept applications if the applicants earned at least RM1,000 a month.
“My husband only makes RM500. Felda should share its profits with the workers. For 14 years, my husband has never received any increment. The only time he received a bonus, he received RM700 including the salary. How can they expect us to survive? We have to pay for our children’s education,” said the 34-year-old housewife.
Siti Roslina now rents her brother’s place with her mother.
“I am very disappointed because how are we supposed to find a home with only RM500? I have to think about my children’s future? If my husband dies then what will happen to us?” she asked.
Felda also currently offers loans from RM20,000 to RM40,000 for settlers to repair or acquire a new house.
However Siti Roslina pointed out that each family could only apply for a loan for one house.
“We have already used my mother’s loan to buy my brother’s house. That is why we are staying here,” she said.
Haspanizan Setapa said that she was still waiting for approval from Felda to get her own house.
“They told us that all of the houses are sold out but you can see that there are many empty houses around here,” said the 32-year-old.
