THE TIDE TURNS: ‘LOOK AT HOW NAJIB IS BEHAVING’ – FELDA SETTLERS CHEER AS MAHATHIR TELLS THEM TO ‘ARISE & WAKE UP, THROW AWAY UMNO’S BRIBES’

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged Felda settlers still supportive of Prime Minister Najib Razak to back Pakatan Harapan instead.

The Pakatan Harapan chairman claimed that out of 54 parliamentary constituencies which were Felda settlements, between 20 and 30 were seen likely to support Barisan Nasional (BN) in the general election (GE14) on May 9.

“To the settlers who are still backing Najib, ‘bangkitlah, bangunlah kamu’ (arise and wake up). Throw away those ‘dedak’.

“Look at how Najib is behaving,” Mahathir told a crowd of about 2,000 people at a ceramah with the theme “Save Felda! Save Malaysia!” held in Felda Bukit Tangga here last night.

Also present were PPBM deputy president Mukhriz Mahathir, party supreme council member Zahid Mat Arip and incumbent Anak Bukit assemblyman Amiruddin Hamzah.

Felda Bukit Tangga falls within the state constituency of Bukit Kayu Hitam, which in turn comes under the Kubang Pasu parliamentary constituency.

It was a homecoming for the former prime minister, who served as Kubang Pasu MP for seven terms, starting with the 1974 general election, until 2004. He did not stand in the 2004 GE having stepped down from the government in October 2003.

Felda settlements are generally Umno strongholds. The opposition won only six Felda seats in the 2013 general election, three of which were won by PAS, which has since left the opposition pact.

The opposition gained a seventh Felda seat two years ago when the then deputy prime minister and Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked from Umno. He subsequently joined Mahathir in setting up PPBM.

Mahathir told the crowd that the opposition pact was very much united to bring Najib down.

A crowd of about 2,000 gathered at Felda Bukit Tangga in Bukit Kayu Hitam for the “Selamatkan Felda, Selamatkan Malaysia” ceramah last night.

“If he goes down, can we fix the terrible state of our country? We can, because we have had a bit of experience in doing so,” he said.

In his speech, Mahathir also touched on Najib’s father, Abdul Razak, had seen the thirst for land from among the people, and had initiated the Felda settlements to help the rural Malays.

He said Felda had opened the settlements by cutting down trees and planting other trees, such as rubber trees. After that, he said settlers were chosen to fill those settlements.

“Why did we focus on opening such settlements? It is because at the time there was no industry. So to make a living, people needed to have land, and to farm the land.

“This was the best way to do it. To do it on their own would have been difficult. Many even died in the process. This is why Razak, as the then deputy prime minister, started Felda. That was how the rakyat were able to earn a livelihood in these farms,” he said.

Mahathir pointed out that such farms became a source of income for the settlers, with rubber estates then mushrooming.

“We saw how many British farms were making huge profits, so we believed that if there is land for our settlers, they will also become rich.

“And back then they were lucky. They got lucrative returns, as the farms were managed by those who were effective managers,” he said.

However, Mahathir said the situation has now changed, with Najib’s belief that “cash is king”.

He then elaborated on how Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) was created by Najib’s administration in 2012 and subsequently listed on the stock exchange.

“Najib promised the settlers if the price went up from RM4 to RM10, they would become millionaires.

“Thousands of settler families took out loans of more than RM3,600 to pay for 800 units of FGV shares in 2012. Each month, RM50 is deducted to pay for the loan. However, FGV’s shares have plunged from a high of RM4.80 to about RM1.80.

Mahathir added that the only outcome has been that the settlers are now saddled with debts.

FMT