FGVH can acquire community area, warns PKR

The community area currently enjoyed by Felda settlers will not be safe once Felda Global Venture Holdings (FGVH) is listed, warned PKR.

Party strategic adviser Rafizi Ramli (right) alleged that once settlers lose control of FGVH, there was nothing to stop the company from taking open land or shoplots in Felda areas.

“It’s true that they will not touch the 10 acres of land and the house owned by every settler, but they can acquire land which does not have land grant,” he said. 

Speaking at a PKR convention on the Felda community and Orang Asal rights, Rafizi warned that should the acquisition take place, settlers can expect a drastic change in their environment and social life.

Rafizi, a former corporate accountant, noted that there is an estimated 843,000 acres of undeveloped land alienated to Felda since the 1970s, which will fall into FGVH’s possession under a 99-year-lease agreement.

The land acquisition has violated the spirit of the Group Settlement Act 1960, he said, as Felda should not at any time own land because it was designed to be a management body.

He said by linking the land assets to the amount of shares held by settlers, the settlers nationwide will only own 20,000 acres of lands.

“If all the land were to distributed to the second or third generations of settlers, then they can work on the land and make much more profits than the RM15,000 windfall which they only receive once in a lifetime,” he said.

He also reiterated that the initial public offering (IPO) of Felda is expected to raise RM5.6 billion, but the total of the windfalls given out was only RM1.6 billion.

“Where has the balance gone? To buy another ring for Rosmah?” he said mockingly.