Felda: In Najib we Trust

Felda Settlers Trust. It didn't come as such a shock that Felda had to defer its EGM this afternoon, an all-important meeting for the 113,000 settlers to decide on what the Cooperative would do about the Government's proposed listing of Felda. Why not shocking? Because the Board of the Cooperative could have acted on an injunction filed by a few members of the cooperative [EIGHT of them, to be exact, please read WayangPengurusan KPF ... ] who may not owe their loyalty to the settlers. The Board could have acted to get the courts to lift the injunction and the courts would have, in my opinion, obliged to such a request as an EGM is a legit avenue for the settlers to discuss their future.

The 113,000 settlers minus the 8 are disappointed, needless to say. But that's the way things are in Felda. For those of you not familiar with Felda, the Cooperative is made up NOT just of the settlers. There are 220,000 Felda cooperative members, including the management of Felda, general workers, and children of the original settlers. The listing of Felda will benefit ALL of them but the exercise is aimed particularly for the 113,000 settlers.

The Government may have no choice but to consider the options at hand. Najib Razak is determined to push for the IPO because it's the only way to go if the government wants to take the settlers to the next level and involve them in the future expansion of Felda, locally and internationally. 

Since the Cooperative seems intent to block the listing of Felda, it is possible now that an ASN-like entity be set up by the government for the 113,000 settlers and that this trust will be the new vehicle for the IPO, which is still scheduled for May this year. 

- rocky's bru