Between his two brothers, his wife and himself, plus the shares inherited from his parents, Felda Sendayan settler R Thangam's family has about a million Koperasi Permodalan Felda (KPF) shares.
As an extended family which most likely has the largest shareholding in KPF, Thangam's family - one of the few non-Malays to take part in the land-for-the-poor project - is in for big bucks in the proposed listing exercise.
"We can make millions from the Felda Global Ventures listing exercise. But I don't support it. This is our pension and we don't want to gamble with it on the stock market," he said when met on Wednesday.
Born into the settlement scheme some 50 years ago, Thangam's plush home in Bandar Sri Sendayan, less than a kilometre away from the Felda settlement in Negeri Sembilan, is a far cry from his humble beginnings as a rubber tapper.
Having returned to Felda Sendayan at 29, after 11 years in the army, Thangam slowly built his savings through KPF shares and now cannot stomach the risk of rendering them into "useless pieces of paper".
He said in all, the family collectively gets at least RM15,000 a month as dividends - KPF has paid out an average 14 percent in the last 30 years - and that sum is enough for them to stop working.
"It's true that there could be really big profits to be made in the stock market, but with KPF, we have a guaranteed dividend of 10 percent. Is this also going to be guaranteed if we list?" he asks.
FGVH is offering to buy KPF's 51 percent stake in Felda Holdings - the parent company - in return for the same stake in FGVH, but analysts believe KPF's stake will drop to about 37 percent with the initial public offering.
While this is a minority shareholding, it is estimated to value about RM4 billion - RM1 billion more than what KPF's majority shareholding in Felda Holdings is now worth.
"Sure, it is more but how much will the settlers receive? They keep saying windfall, but how is it going to be distributed?" asked Thangam.
Booted out of meeting hall
The father of six added that only about 60 individuals hold 250,000 KPF shares - the maximum for any individual - with the 2010 annual report showing that about 60,000 people hold less than 500 units.
"So how will these people be made millionaires as promised by Isa Samad?" he asked.
Asking these questions in KPF's briefing on the matter last week landed Thangam, who is also PKR Rasah deputy division chief, in hot water with Felda chairperson Isa, who booted the settler out of the hall.
"It's just not right," said Saparuddin Mohd Yassin, 62, whose holds 250,000 KPF shares and is a former settler from Sendayan. His father joined the scheme in 1970.
"As shareholders, we want to know what will happen to our shares? Do we exchange them for FGVH shares? Is it a one-to-one exchange? How many shares will be made available to KPF members?" he said, listing out the yet unanswered questions.
Having retired from a golf course consultancy company, Saparuddin uses his KPF dividends of about RM3,000 a month for day-to-day expenses and he smells something fishy in the lack of information over the deal.
"If it really benefits us then why are they sneaking around about it. Just tell us the details," said the former Sendayan Umno branch chief, who left the party after being "bitten" by the state government in 1996.
In 1996, Felda Sendayan settlers chopped down their rubber trees and sold their land to the state government, then led by Isa, only to be given 10 percent of the promised sale price.
After about a decade of tussling, most of the settlers reluctantly accepted the new "package" offered by new Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan at a loss.
Those met by Malaysiakini around Felda Sendayan confess they hold a grudge against Isa (left) for his hand in the Sendayan land deal, and are equally suspicious of what he promises now as Felda boss.
To add to this fear, Saparuddin rattles out the names of government-backed companies which have failed at the stock market.
His fear is not entirely unfounded. AReuters report says "investors are wary over the listing because the government is likely to retain significant influence over the new company through shareholdings".
Investors also share Saparuddin's worry over tainted Isa, who was found guilty of vote-buying in Umno elections seven years ago, the newswire reported.
Sentimental link to land
For Thangam, it is also the sentimental value of the Felda land. Even though the FGVH listing will not touch settlers' land, it includes some 350,000ha of Felda Plantations' land.
As an extended family which most likely has the largest shareholding in KPF, Thangam's family - one of the few non-Malays to take part in the land-for-the-poor project - is in for big bucks in the proposed listing exercise.
"We can make millions from the Felda Global Ventures listing exercise. But I don't support it. This is our pension and we don't want to gamble with it on the stock market," he said when met on Wednesday.
Born into the settlement scheme some 50 years ago, Thangam's plush home in Bandar Sri Sendayan, less than a kilometre away from the Felda settlement in Negeri Sembilan, is a far cry from his humble beginnings as a rubber tapper.Having returned to Felda Sendayan at 29, after 11 years in the army, Thangam slowly built his savings through KPF shares and now cannot stomach the risk of rendering them into "useless pieces of paper".
He said in all, the family collectively gets at least RM15,000 a month as dividends - KPF has paid out an average 14 percent in the last 30 years - and that sum is enough for them to stop working.
"It's true that there could be really big profits to be made in the stock market, but with KPF, we have a guaranteed dividend of 10 percent. Is this also going to be guaranteed if we list?" he asks.
FGVH is offering to buy KPF's 51 percent stake in Felda Holdings - the parent company - in return for the same stake in FGVH, but analysts believe KPF's stake will drop to about 37 percent with the initial public offering.
While this is a minority shareholding, it is estimated to value about RM4 billion - RM1 billion more than what KPF's majority shareholding in Felda Holdings is now worth.
"Sure, it is more but how much will the settlers receive? They keep saying windfall, but how is it going to be distributed?" asked Thangam.
Booted out of meeting hall
The father of six added that only about 60 individuals hold 250,000 KPF shares - the maximum for any individual - with the 2010 annual report showing that about 60,000 people hold less than 500 units.
"So how will these people be made millionaires as promised by Isa Samad?" he asked.
Asking these questions in KPF's briefing on the matter last week landed Thangam, who is also PKR Rasah deputy division chief, in hot water with Felda chairperson Isa, who booted the settler out of the hall.
"It's just not right," said Saparuddin Mohd Yassin, 62, whose holds 250,000 KPF shares and is a former settler from Sendayan. His father joined the scheme in 1970."As shareholders, we want to know what will happen to our shares? Do we exchange them for FGVH shares? Is it a one-to-one exchange? How many shares will be made available to KPF members?" he said, listing out the yet unanswered questions.
Having retired from a golf course consultancy company, Saparuddin uses his KPF dividends of about RM3,000 a month for day-to-day expenses and he smells something fishy in the lack of information over the deal.
"If it really benefits us then why are they sneaking around about it. Just tell us the details," said the former Sendayan Umno branch chief, who left the party after being "bitten" by the state government in 1996.
In 1996, Felda Sendayan settlers chopped down their rubber trees and sold their land to the state government, then led by Isa, only to be given 10 percent of the promised sale price.
After about a decade of tussling, most of the settlers reluctantly accepted the new "package" offered by new Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan at a loss.
Those met by Malaysiakini around Felda Sendayan confess they hold a grudge against Isa (left) for his hand in the Sendayan land deal, and are equally suspicious of what he promises now as Felda boss.To add to this fear, Saparuddin rattles out the names of government-backed companies which have failed at the stock market.
His fear is not entirely unfounded. AReuters report says "investors are wary over the listing because the government is likely to retain significant influence over the new company through shareholdings".
Investors also share Saparuddin's worry over tainted Isa, who was found guilty of vote-buying in Umno elections seven years ago, the newswire reported.
Sentimental link to land
For Thangam, it is also the sentimental value of the Felda land. Even though the FGVH listing will not touch settlers' land, it includes some 350,000ha of Felda Plantations' land.
The son of an estate worker whose decision to enter the Felda scheme changed his family's fate, Thangam remembers well their poor beginnings when they had to fight off locusts to grow rice to eat.
"Why should this land be released to the open market? It should stay in Felda, in Malaysian hands. I'd rather they open the land to new settlers. Felda is the blood and sweat of the settlers," Thangam said.
While the doors are still open to KPF, Isa insists that the listing will go ahead, with or without the cooperative on board.
Analysts believe that this will be bad for KPF shareholders as they will not hold a stake in FGVH-controlled subsidiaries, where all the high-growth businesses and projects are likely to be parked.
In such a case, the New Straits Times reported that Felda Holdings' revenue will be undermined, making it difficult to give out guaranteed dividends.
"But the fact is, we are guaranteed 10 percent dividend with KPF. Depending on how well FGVH does on the market, it could be 5 percent and what can we eat with that?" Saparuddin asked.
And with Isa announcing that a special purpose vehicle will be set up to represent settlers' interests in the listing exercise, it appears that KPF shareholders who are settlers will still get a piece of the listing pie.
If there is indeed a windfall, Thangam hopes the benefits will be shared with settlers in the form of KPF shares.
"You can't blame the older settlers for giving the money to their children as it is out of love, but they don't realise that they'll need some for their later years too," Thangam added.
"Why should this land be released to the open market? It should stay in Felda, in Malaysian hands. I'd rather they open the land to new settlers. Felda is the blood and sweat of the settlers," Thangam said.While the doors are still open to KPF, Isa insists that the listing will go ahead, with or without the cooperative on board.
Analysts believe that this will be bad for KPF shareholders as they will not hold a stake in FGVH-controlled subsidiaries, where all the high-growth businesses and projects are likely to be parked.
In such a case, the New Straits Times reported that Felda Holdings' revenue will be undermined, making it difficult to give out guaranteed dividends.
"But the fact is, we are guaranteed 10 percent dividend with KPF. Depending on how well FGVH does on the market, it could be 5 percent and what can we eat with that?" Saparuddin asked.
And with Isa announcing that a special purpose vehicle will be set up to represent settlers' interests in the listing exercise, it appears that KPF shareholders who are settlers will still get a piece of the listing pie.If there is indeed a windfall, Thangam hopes the benefits will be shared with settlers in the form of KPF shares.
"You can't blame the older settlers for giving the money to their children as it is out of love, but they don't realise that they'll need some for their later years too," Thangam added.
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