Pairin in the dark on Felda
Published on: Saturday, July 16, 2016
DEPUTY CM Pairin says he does not remember signing any changes to the agreement made by the then Berjaya State Government and Felda during his tenure as Chief Minister between 1985 and 1994. "As far as I can tell, the agreement is intact and remains so. I do not know that it was ever changed. I do not know if someone changed it. But I don't remember signing anything with Felda," he said.
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He was responding to a statement by former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh who said the Felda settlement scheme in Lahad Datu was changed drastically after the fall of Berjaya in the late 80s, with the settlers' status changed from potential landowners to workers under the newly-corporatised Felda.According to Harris, it was his idea to bring Felda to Sabah in the early 80s and gave the Federal agency 300,000 acres of prime plantation land with the hope that Felda's success in the peninsula would be emulated in Sabah as well. Harris said he did not expect Felda to corporatise the plantation and the State government at the time would agree to it. Harris said the 20,000 settlers should have been entitled to own their 15-acre plots after 15-years.
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Earlier, Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) President Datuk Seri Wilfred Bumburing said he represented the PBS State Government in the National Land Council chaired by then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Ghafar Baba, when Ghafar announced the corporatisation of Felda land.He said he protested the move and reminded Ghafar that this cannot be applied to Sabah because there is an agreement between the State government and Felda.
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The corporatisation of Felda land would mean that the settlers would be shareholders of the new company instead of getting individual titles.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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