A pro-Felda settlers group today dropped a bombshell by claiming that Felda Plantations is an illegal organisation.

NONEPersatuan Anak Peneroka Felda Kebangsaan (Anak) president Mazlan Aliman (left) said Felda Plantations, which manages oil palm plantations opened under the federal scheme, has unlawfully taken over 367,710 ha of land nationwide that were meant to go straight to settlers.

In Anak’s first foray into the Kerdau by-election today, Mazlan said Felda Plantations has no right to the land as the Group Settlement Act 1960 (GSA) only allows ownership to be transferred to individuals or co-operatives.

Mazlan explained that the over 360,000 ha of land had been given away by the various state governments and was supposed to go straight to the settlers under the Felda scheme.

“But the federal government was not honest, and took all that land and put it under Felda Plantations,” he said at PAS’ daily press conference at its operations centre in Kerdau.

“This makes Felda Plantations an illegal organisation.”

Mazlan, who is also a PAS central committee member, questioned whether or not Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is aware of the fact that the GSA - tabled by none other than his late father and former premier Abdul Razak Hussein - was designed to help the people and not a government agency.

Holding up a booklet containing Hansard excerpts of Abdul Razak’s speech when tabling the GSA on April 27, 1960, Mazlan said the late prime minister created the Act to eradicate poverty and give help uplift the economic standing of the Malays.

“This is in line with the objectives of Pakatan Rakyat’s Buku Jingga,” he said.

Seeking legal redress

Mazlan noted that Anak is not sitting idly, having already started cooperating with the Selangor state government in establishing the legal grounds to reclaim land taken by the federal government at Felda Sungai Tengi.

He stressed that this is only the beginning, as the over 360,000 ha of land, if distributed evenly, would benefit 79,000 second generation Felda settlers and directly improve their financial standing, as opposed to the current dividend payments of between RM100 and RM200 which they receive annually.

Mazlan stressed that Pahang alone accounts for 115 Felda settlement schemes, the highest number throughout the country.

“Does the prime minister realise that 45,000 people under Felda Plantations, who include locals, are suffering from low salaries and treated like slaves?,” he said, adding that plantation workers under private companies are treated much better.

Mazlan’s arrival at Kerdau today is expected to galvanise PAS’ by-election campaign in the all-important Felda areas which, when put together with the sole Felcra settlement in the constituency, account for one-third of the 8,999 voters registered.

He is scheduled to speak at a ceramah at Felda Jengka 25, the largest settlement in Kerdau, tonight.