Felda will continue to be under the oversight of the Prime Minister’s Department until the main issues faced by the agency and its settlers are resolved, according to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar stated that he will personally monitor Felda’s progress until the agency can be transferred to another ministry. He explained, “For now, Felda is under the PM’s Department because there are a lot of problems and I do not want to resolve them in bits and pieces.”
Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the newly-appointed Felda chairman, has been given full responsibility in addressing these issues. Anwar expressed his confidence in Shabery’s capabilities and seriousness in resolving the challenges. Anwar reassured Shabery, saying, “I have told him to push ahead and if there are problems to let me know.”
Anwar emphasized the significant history of Felda and called on the Felda fraternity, particularly the first to third generation settlers, to demonstrate strong commitment in resolving the issues. He stated, “I have been trying my best (to resolve the issues). No one can criticise this or deny that in the past eight months, we have addressed issues – on top of the RM8.3bil waiver for (Felda settlers’ debts) – concerning Internet access, dialysis centres, repair of dilapidated schools, and street lights.”
Anwar further noted that if the government has been able to solve this long-standing issue within eight months, they can achieve much more in the next five years.
In June, Anwar signed an agreement to waive Felda settlers’ debts amounting to RM8.3bil. Additionally, an annual allocation of RM7.7mil was provided for the operating costs of street lights. Furthermore, 12 haemodialysis centres will be constructed in all Felda regions, with an allocated budget of RM21mil.
Also present at the event were Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Ahmad Shabery. – Bernama
Credit: The Star : News Feed
