Felda folk are taken care of, chairman says
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FELDA settlers will retain their positions even if a foreign firm is buying into Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGFV), Felda chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad said today.
Shahrir, however, said talks of Felda ending its land lease agreement and share sales to a foreign company had not been finalised yet.
“The relationship between Felda and its settlers remains unchanged. Under the Land Development Act 1956, and the Group Settlement Act 1960, settlers’ positions will be maintained.
“All these are only options that we have. But there is nothing yet. That is just what the media is reporting,” the Johor Baru MP said in Putrajaya today.
It was reported that Felda was open to the idea of settling the land lease agreement and an Indonesian businessman Martua Sitorus, the co-founder of Wilmar International Limited, had emerged as the new shareholder of FGV.
The news rattled Felda settlers, who told The Malaysian Insight recently that the takeover of FGV shares and management by the Indonesian businessman would negatively affect their interests.
Shahrir said some 85% of Felda settlers had already been given their land titles (surat hak milik).
“The land stays with them. They are not moving anywhere. The produce from their farms go back to them 100%. There is no change to the arrangement,” he said.
Shahrir said whatever Felda was doing was to ensure the organisation’s continuity, adding that its financial position and administration is priority.
The Malaysian Insight reported today that the settlers were concerned that the foreign company may take control of sales and set prices of produce taken from them.
Other worries include the increasing debt born by Felda settlers due to FGV and Felda Technoplant Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary formed in 2005 to manage plantations which had yielded fruits and were to be replanted.
Felda’s interest in FGV is about 34%, and the public-listed company manages about 335,000ha of Felda’s 850,000ha of land.
Felda needed to pay a minimum of RM3 billion to FGV and serve and 11-month notice if it intended to end its lease. – May 8, 2017.