Fresh from being unburdened by the courts of a charge of defamation of Felda, PKR stalwart Dr Tan Kwong Kee called the opinion of the agency's chairperson Mohd Isa Abdul Samad a "flight from reality" after the latter had dismissed criticisms of Felda as plain "politics".
A former BN deputy minister with oversight of Felda, Tan (left), who is chairman of the disciplinary panel in PKR, said Isa Samad's flippant dismissal of the opposition's criticisms of the way Felda has been managed was "stupefying, given all that has happened to the agency lately."
"This continuing flight from reality is shocking when you appraise the facts that have come to light in recent months, principally the borrowing by Felda Plantations of RM6 billion from EPF," said Tan toMalaysiakini.
"During my time as deputy minister with oversight of Felda more than 10 years ago, the agency made RM2 billion a year on crude oil palm prices that are a third of what it is now," argued Tan.
Prices for crude palm oil hovered around the RM1,000 per tonne mark during the time when Tan, as a Gerakan official, was a deputy minister in the ruling BN coalition.
"The agency was on autopilot then, yet still it could garner something like RM2 billion a year. Now with the CPO price three times what it was in those days, Felda Plantations is in hock to EPF for RM6 billion. This is not politics - this is scary reality," commented Tan.
Felda chair Isa (left), at a breaking of fast function for staff in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, had described as just "politics" indulged for election purposes criticisms voiced by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat of the way Felda is being managed.
Isa contended the opposition was envious that Felda is a strong voting bloc of the BN's and so dredged up dirt on the agency whenever elections were in the offing.
Felda to appeal decision, Tan unfazed
Tan, who has had the Felda management in his crosshairs since the middle of last year when word began to circulate that Felda's RM4.5 billion in cash reserves had vanished, was sued for defamation by Felda Plantations over his publicised strictures on the agency's management.
Earlier this week, the High Court ruled against the plaintiffs in the matter.
This gave an ironic twist to a remark made by Ahmad Maslan, the Umno deputy minister with oversight of Felda, to Tan when the two encountered each other in the car park at Parliament a few months ago.
"See you in court," exclaimed the Umno information chief to Tan, in obvious reference to the defamation suit filed last year by Felda Plantations against the former deputy minister for the latter's criticisms of public agency's mismanagement.
Felda has appealed the High Court's decision but Tan is unfazed.
"From a situation where Felda should have been sitting nicely on a nest egg of RM15 billion or thereabouts, we have now a situation where the agency has lost RM4.5 billion in cash reserves and has borrowed RM6 billion from EPF," said Tan.
"Prime Minister Najib Razak has said Felda settlers should not complain because they are reputedly earning RM4,000 a month when the reality is that many of them wind up with something like RM700 a month after assorted deductions," claimed Tan.
To Tan, the reality on the ground for Felda settlers is grimmer than the rosy statistics being bandied about by the Felda chair and his patron, the PM. - Malaysiakini
A former BN deputy minister with oversight of Felda, Tan (left), who is chairman of the disciplinary panel in PKR, said Isa Samad's flippant dismissal of the opposition's criticisms of the way Felda has been managed was "stupefying, given all that has happened to the agency lately."
"This continuing flight from reality is shocking when you appraise the facts that have come to light in recent months, principally the borrowing by Felda Plantations of RM6 billion from EPF," said Tan toMalaysiakini.
"During my time as deputy minister with oversight of Felda more than 10 years ago, the agency made RM2 billion a year on crude oil palm prices that are a third of what it is now," argued Tan.
Prices for crude palm oil hovered around the RM1,000 per tonne mark during the time when Tan, as a Gerakan official, was a deputy minister in the ruling BN coalition.
"The agency was on autopilot then, yet still it could garner something like RM2 billion a year. Now with the CPO price three times what it was in those days, Felda Plantations is in hock to EPF for RM6 billion. This is not politics - this is scary reality," commented Tan.
Felda chair Isa (left), at a breaking of fast function for staff in Kuala Lumpur earlier this week, had described as just "politics" indulged for election purposes criticisms voiced by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat of the way Felda is being managed.
Isa contended the opposition was envious that Felda is a strong voting bloc of the BN's and so dredged up dirt on the agency whenever elections were in the offing.
Felda to appeal decision, Tan unfazed
Tan, who has had the Felda management in his crosshairs since the middle of last year when word began to circulate that Felda's RM4.5 billion in cash reserves had vanished, was sued for defamation by Felda Plantations over his publicised strictures on the agency's management.
Earlier this week, the High Court ruled against the plaintiffs in the matter.
This gave an ironic twist to a remark made by Ahmad Maslan, the Umno deputy minister with oversight of Felda, to Tan when the two encountered each other in the car park at Parliament a few months ago.
"See you in court," exclaimed the Umno information chief to Tan, in obvious reference to the defamation suit filed last year by Felda Plantations against the former deputy minister for the latter's criticisms of public agency's mismanagement.
Felda has appealed the High Court's decision but Tan is unfazed.
"From a situation where Felda should have been sitting nicely on a nest egg of RM15 billion or thereabouts, we have now a situation where the agency has lost RM4.5 billion in cash reserves and has borrowed RM6 billion from EPF," said Tan.
"Prime Minister Najib Razak has said Felda settlers should not complain because they are reputedly earning RM4,000 a month when the reality is that many of them wind up with something like RM700 a month after assorted deductions," claimed Tan.
To Tan, the reality on the ground for Felda settlers is grimmer than the rosy statistics being bandied about by the Felda chair and his patron, the PM. - Malaysiakini
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