The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA’S 80% debt waiver for Felda settlers would not mean automatic support for Perikatan Nasional in the next general election, settlers said.

They told The Malaysian Insight Felda settlements were still the stronghold of Umno.

They also believed there was a hidden agenda in Putrajaya’s offer, which came with conditions.

However, a settlers’ association said the waiver would allow Felda to take over and manage farms better, and to fulfil the Sustainable Palm Oil Certification (MSPO).

One of the settlers, Muhammad Danial Aiman Zainuddin said, they do not support PN because the settlements were still a fixed deposit for Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).

“I was born and bred here, many of us know Felda is a fixed deposit for BN, even though the government has changed but (support) in Felda is still with BN (Umno).

“In terms of debts being abolished, we thank (Prime Minister) Muhyiddin (Yassin), but the impact in terms of support for PN is not there yet,” said the second-generation settler from Felda Sg Tengi in Selangor.

He added the majority of settlers were still supporters of Umno and BN even though the coalition lost to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the last general election.

“There are also a handful of PAS and PKR supporters but there is no denying that Felda settlers are hardcore BN supporters.

“Felda people are loyal to Umno. Just like PAS members are loyal to their leaders,” he said.

Muhyiddin, in his Felda Day speech earlier this month said the government has agreed to waive a portion of the settlers’ debt worth RM8.3 billion under a conditional loan adjustment initiative.

Under the waiver, loan repayments would be reduced by an average 80% for each settler. He said loan repayments would reduce from RM800 to RM1,000 to only RM250 to RM300 a month for oil palm planters.

Political game

The debt waiver announcement came at a time when Muhyiddin’s government was under intense pressure over its failure in effectively handling the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout.

The issue of Felda settlers’ debt burden has been an ongoing affair for the successive governments from the BN era.

As such, settlers have also been sceptical of the solutions provided by the government.

Settler Danial said the latest offer was just a political game by PN.

“There is no doubt that 80% of the debt cancellation is a political game. To attract support, the PN must take care of young voters.

“As most of them are not aware of politics, and being fence-sitters, they accept any kind of help,” he said.

Another settler, Musalman Ismail considered the debt cancellation offer as dishonest. He said that alone was enough for him not to support PN.

“It is unlikely that the settlers will support Muhyiddin, the debt cancellation offer is not honest and there must be a hidden agenda,” said the Felda Sg Tiang settler in Kedah.

He added that the PN administration had failed to take care of the welfare of Felda settlers.

Azizul Sulaiman, a settler from Felda Palong, Negri Sembilan, echoed Musalman’s views, saying it was difficult for PN to gain the support from settlers who have always supported BN.

“No matter what Muhyiddin does, the settlers will not give support because the settlers have always been BN voters,” he said.

“Maybe he (Muhyiddin) is trying to attract settlers to support Bersatu,” he said.

Azizi Selamat, 42, a second-generation settler from Felda Penggili Timur, Johor was also wary of the government’s offer and saw it as a “too good to be true” offer.

He feared there could be a trick behind the initiative, as the settlers could not confirm the amount of debt they had incurred so far.

“In terms of wanting to reduce the debt, it’s good, but I don’t know. The problem is when we ask for a statement, nothing exists, and we don’t know how much we owe.

“It’s been 10 years I have been paying off my debt but the amount doesn’t seem to decrease.

“When we asked the management, they said we have to be open minded. That’s why I’m afraid to accept. I feel like there’s an agenda,” he said.

Other settlers meanwhile said they feel lucky because they are no longer tied to Felda’s debt as they have opted out of the scheme.

Isa Atan, 73, said he did not need to think about the offer because he was now running his own farm after leaving the Felda scheme.

The Felda Sg Sibol settler in Johor also said Felda was no longer a fixed deposit for Umno and BN.

All that changed after BN lost in the last GE14, which saw PH taking over the administration of the country, he said.

“The support of the settlers themselves has split. Umno is not as strong as before.

“The sentiment of the settlers now is that they will support the government of the day,” said Isa.

Gaining MSPO compliance

Settler associations such as the National Felda Settlers, however, supported Muhyiddin’s announcement, but wanted to know the details of the agreement between Felda and the settlers.

Its chief Sulong Jamil Mohamed Shariff said the settlers were confused on the finer details of the debt-waiver conditions, including the handover of the management of their farms to Felda.

He also said the debt waiver only involved farm management debts and does not cover housing and other loans.

“It’s been 20 years since we asked for debt cancellation. We also asked for only half of the debts to be rescinded but Felda cancelled 80%.

“Good, and whoever agrees and signs will have to hand over the farm to Felda to manage,” he said.

Sulong said a standard management of farms would also allow for compliance with the MSPO certification, which would allow trouble-free entry into the European market.

“If settlers agree to sign up (for debt waiver) but want to manage their farms on their own, they will have to follow good agricultural practices to avoid action from Europe on the MSPO compliances.

“But the settlers have to follow good agricultural practices. If they are caught for open burning, it will cause trouble to others. The whole country will not be able to sell palm oil,” he said.

He revealed that a total of 37,500 settlers out of 112,638 have agreed to the cancellation of the debt and gave Felda permission to manage their farms.

The settlers have been given until October 11 to accept or to reject the debt cancellation proposal. – July 21, 2021.