Felda’s listing a threat to settlers – Razaleigh
(Harakah Daily) – Gua Musang member of parliament Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (left) described the government’s plan to list Felda Global Ventures Holding at Bursa Malaysia as dangerous and a threat to settlers’ future.
The former Finance minister told Harakahdaily yesterday that he had been informed that once FGVH was listed, assets and lands belonging to settlers could be exposed to open market, making them transferable to anyone including foreigners who could buy the shares at whatever price.
As such, Razaleigh warned that settlers would risk losing their lands if shareholders decided to sell off their shares.
“If price goes up, a shareholder would want to take profit, of course he would sell the shares to someone else, and it will be stupid not to take profit. But in the end, the land, which belongs to them, would be then under someone else through the ownership of shares which have rights over the lands. This is dangerous,” he explained.
Under the listing plan, Felda Plantation would mortgage all its 360,000 hectares of lands to FGVH for 99 years.
ANAK economic advisor and former Bank Negara director Rosli Yaakob had earlier pointed out that Felda could see a huge fall in revenues as FGVH would only pay RM251 million in rental and also 15 per cent of profits from its oil palm plantations, which amounts to RM257 million at the projected price of RM2,900 per tonne of oil palm fruits for the 360,067-hectare land mortgaged by Felda Plantations to FGVH.
“Felda’s revenue which is around RM2 to RM 2.3 billion a year, will be left with a mere RM508 million. Even that is subject the price of the commodity remaining stable as it is now,” Rosli said, adding that Felda had turned in a profit of only RM400 million in 2010.
The listing plan will result in the loss-making FGVH controlling the 51 per cent stake owned by more than 200,000 smallholders in Felda Holdings, which made RM760 million in 2010.
FGVH subsidiaries had accumulated losses of around RM500 million up to last year from its overseas investment. Razaleigh meanwhile said settlers could face the prospect of being driven out from their lands if they were to sell their shares. “Settlers’ fate solely relies on their plantation land which they have worked for thus far. If the lands are sold through sale of the shares, they have no more connection with the lands, so they have no right to stay there. “I don’t know whether the government has other ways to guarantee rights of the settlers,” he added.
