Pakatan states won’t surrender land to FGV

Felda Global Ventures will have to deal with the menteris besar in the Pakatan Rakyat- led states if it wants Felda settlers' land.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor will not hand over Felda land to Felda Global Ventures (FGV) which is aiming for listing. That’s the stand taken by the Felda Settlers’ Children’s Association (Anak).

Anak president Mazlan Aliman said the three Pakatan Rakyat-led states will not sign an agreement to surrender their Felda land to FGV.

“All three Pakatan-led states will not be signing this agreement to hand over the land to FGV.

“We will be meeting all the state menteris besar soon to convey our stand, ” he said.

State land matters come under the menteri Besar and FGV will have to meet the three menteris besar to obtain ownership of the land.

According to Mazlan, both Kedah and Kelantan have agreed with their stand and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has been informed of Anak’s decision.

He said the PAS central committee had met on the issue last month and decided against signing the agreement.

Maslan also said Anak will hold a series of roadshows called, “Gerakan Selamat Felda”, to convey the association’s stand.

Anak has been at the forefront fighing to secure settler’s rights and revealing wrongdoings in the land authority.

It was one of the first stakeholders that opposed the listing of FGV.

FGV listing on track for April

In recent months, questions raised by the opposition and independent analysts on the real benefits to settlers have gone unanswered.

According to Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee, at stake are not simply concerns of how well the offering will be received by investors but also the initial public offering (IPO) pricing and other market-related issues.

“This is not your ordinary listing exercise aimed at reconciling the interests of a small group of initial shareholders with those of other new parties.

“Neither is it a question of how much gains the initial settlers and shareholders can make from this listing exercise.

“There are over 240,000 members of Koperasi Permodalan Felda. Together with their immediate and other dependent family members, Felda settlers and their children number several millions of our citizens.

“This very large group has formed the backbone of our agricultural community, ” he said.

But FGV appears unfazed by the growing groundswell against its decision.

Early this month, FGV president and chief executive officer, Sabri Ahmad, said that plans to list the company on Bursa Malaysia in April 2012 was on track.

He said FGV was firm in its mission to get the listing done within this time-frame.