Felda to get RM1.6b as Najib woos settlers in Tenang

Najib said the allocation would fund community and development projects. — File pic

LABIS, Jan 18 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak moved to secure Felda voters in the Tenang constituency when he announced here today a RM1.6 billion allocation for the land authority, ahead of a by-election campaign that kicks off officially this weekend.

He also called the country’s 112,000 Felda settlers role models for rural Malaysia, as he campaigned here today to win support from voters in Federal Land Development Authority settlements.

Felda has become a significant battleground between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) with the federal opposition making some inroads in the past year into traditional Umno strongholds in the settlements.

Felda settlers make up more than a quarter of the 14,511 voters in Tenang, and BN is keen to not just win back the constituency but to score a landslide victory to spark a momentum for the ruling coalition ahead of a possible general election this year.

The prime minister also told Felda settlers in Chemplak today that they were now in the middle-income bracket, earning RM3,000 or more a month compared to 40 per cent of Malaysians who only earned RM2,400.

The BN chief said the RM1.6 billion allocation would fund community and development projects for the 112,000 Felda settlers nationwide who were now “role models” for those living in rural areas.

Although Tenang is in the BN stronghold of Johor, the federal opposition has been working hard to make some headway with rural Malays in Felda settlements.

But Najib will be keen to fend off PR from gaining traction among rural Malays who are considered the ruling coalition’s main support base.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Najib is seeking a majority of 5,000 votes in Tenang before deciding whether to call for a general election this year.

A source revealed that if BN fails to deliver this majority, national polls could be delayed until 2012.

His trip to Chemplak is part of a day-long visit to the Labis area located in the Tenang state constituency that will go to the polls on January 30.

In the afternoon, Najib is scheduled to meet the Indian community at the Labis District Council multipurpose hall before opening an extension of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina Labis and meet the Chinese community.

Half the voters in Tenang are Malay, 38 per cent Chinese and another 12 per cent are Indian.

The Tenang by-election is being held following the death of the three-term assemblyman, BN’s Datuk Sulaiman Taha, on December 17.

Nomination is on January 22. - Malaysian Insider