End Felda 'serial drama' and take firm action, Najib told

A PKR lawmaker has told the government to end it's "drama" over The Federal Land Development Authority's (Felda) scandals and take immediate action instead.

"The government needs to end its drama over the serial exposes of Felda scandals, and take firm legal action against those responsible.

Prime Minister Najib Razak must necessarily take full steps to expose Felda's severe scandals under his leadership, instead of conducting serial disclosures," said Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

She said this needed to be done to stop the "deterioration of the bumiputera institution under the hands of Umno".

The prime minister, she said, had a duty to ensure those responsible for Felda's sad state of affairs, causing the agency to run into liabilities totalling RM 12.26 billion at the end of 2016, be made to face the law, regardless of rank.

"Felda, as the agency tasked with uplifting the bumiputera community, needs to be totally cleansed as a whole," she added.

She was commenting on the latest expose by Felda chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad over the transfer of ownership of several plots of prime Felda land worth RM270 million in Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur.

Najib yesterday ordered a probe into the transaction and vowed action.

'Probe with no results'

Malay daily Berita Harian on Thursday revealed Felda could risk losing rights to the land, which is currently being developed as a part of the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) project, which involves seven towers - including a "Felda tower," known as KLVC Tower1A, a 68-storey structure comprising 59 levels of office space and a helipad.

She lamented one by one, the people were learning of Felda's woes, from its losses, sinking shrae prices of Felda Global Ventures (FGV) to the scandal of settlers not having been paid, and now the latest expose on the Jalan Semarak land.

On top of the shock of the new scandal, she said former Felda chairperson Isa Samad has only been questioned by the MACC without any further progress.

"Is this just a case of investigating, without making public any findings of the probe? What is the outcome ...?" she asked.

Nurul Izzah said Felda's present situation vindicates what Pakatan Harapan and NGOs such as Anak have been fighting against for the longest time.- Mkini