A settler at Felda Lok Heng Selatan in Kota Tinggi, Johor, who only wanted to be known as Ahadin, said some parties had misrepresented the terms of the agreement by only displaying part of the document.
According to the head of Block 10 in Felda, the seven-page agreement sought the settlers’ consent to hand over the management of their plantation land starting from the date of the agreement.
“It does not mean that our land was taken as alleged, Felda only manages the farms,” Ahadin told FMT.
The issue of the handover of land ownership arose when a Twitter user claimed that the settlers had to do so in return for clearing their debts.
“Muhyiddin Yassin announced the government would write off RM8 billion worth of settlers’ debts. Apparently, if they want to write off the debt, the settlers have to hand over the farm to Felda to manage,” said Sham Gaz, who shared half a page of the agreement document.
Ahadin said that according to the agreement, all debts, including replanting costs, original development expenditure and the purchase of fertilizer, would be written off over 13 years.
“Under the previous programme, after 13 years, we would have to take on new debts for replanting, but now after settling the debts, we are free from loans. This relieves us of our burden as settlers and for our future generations,” he said.
Ahadin produced documents showing an amount of about RM49,000 he has to settle, compared to the original sum of RM144,407.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Bongkik, a settler at Felda Palong Timur in Segamat, said that while there was confusion and anxiety among the settlers initially, their concerns were immediately addressed by the Felda management.
“At first, we did not want to sign (the agreement) because we were worried about the ownership status, but after Felda officials explained the new debt write-off conditions, we understood and agreed,” said the settler of almost 40 years.
Those eligible for the scheme are given two weeks from July 7 to inform Felda of their interest and sign the agreement.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin, who announced the scheme last week, said the agreement addressed the issue of settlers’ debts and was an important initial step to revitalise Felda.