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Felda Settlement, Grouping The Rural PopulationJune 06, 2007 11:42 AM
Felda Settlement, Grouping The Rural Population
By Kamarul Irwan Alias
BENTONG (Pahang), June 6 (Bernama) -- When Malaya proclaimed independence almost 50 years ago, much of her population was scattered in rural areas where poverty was rife then.
A year before independence, on 1 July 1956, the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) was established to regroup the scattered population in the rural areas and provide land for the landless in efforts to mitigate poverty.
Soon after independence many Felda settlements began mushrooming all over the nation with the trademark wooden houses and the rubber and oil palm plantations. The early settlers of these land schemes led a modest live.
But today all that has changed, probably even beyond the imagination of the man who envisioned this far-sighted land scheme, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, the nation's second prime minister.
A drive from Bentong to Felda Mempaga stands testimony to this with the houses in the settlements can match to those found in the upscale neighbourhood of Damansara Heights in Kuala Lumpur.
But wait there is more! Felda Mempaga, a settlement established 20 years ago and categorised as a remote settlement has all the amenities of a modern town.
Bungalows, shoplots, bus and taxi terminal, an IT centre, colleges, multi purpose halls, market and many more - and the Felda Mempaga stands out as the pioneer of Feldajaya Timur programme introduced as a growth catalyst for the Felda region in the next 50 years.
NAJIB CONTINUES HIS FATHER'S VISION
While Tun Abdul Razak did not live to see the fruits of his labour, his son Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, the Deputy Prime Minister and the minister responsible for Felda's development, is all out to see Felda settlements transformed into growth centres in stages. He made clear of his vision when launching the Feldajaya Timur Mempaga in July 2006.
"Tun Razak had many times over said that we need to "urbanise" Felda, and wanted to see Felda settlements develop into Malay economic growth centres," said Najib.
In the post merdeka years, there is no doubt Felda played a defining role in transforming the rural demography with the settlers enjoying a better life after independence.
Felda also contributed to the success of the New Economic Policy (NEP), another ingenious social engineering programme outlined by Tun Abdul Razak. By late 1970 and 1980s, Felda schemes were recognized as the worlds biggest land reformation programme and a successful one too. Felda's success augured well for the nation and helped to position Malaysia as the world's biggest producer of rubber and palm oil.
Yet one of Felda's landmark achievements is effectively helping the rural Malays to escape from the clutches of poverty, the very reason why it was established.
FELDA MOVES AHEAD
As the nation enters its independence golden jubilee, Felda with about 700,000 settlers has raised the bar to produce new middle class among its settlers by enhancing and diversifying their income as outlined by Najib in the Feldajaya programme.
This will be achieved through the Feldajaya programme that will develop new growth centres in the outskirts to provide opportunities for the settlers to venture into business and entrepreneurship rather than just depending on commodities.
Up to now, Feldajaya has been implemented in three zones; east, Mempaga in Pahang; north, Trolak in Perak; and south, Gugusan Raja Alias in Negeri Sembilan.
By 2010, about 10 more growth centres modelled after the Feldajaya concept will be established in 10 Felda regions all over the nation.
LIVING IN A FELDA TOWN
A Feldajaya settler, Jamaludin Chin, 58, when met at his bungalow in Mempaga Timur, said he never dreamt that one day he will be living in a town when he became a settler of Felda Mempaga 3 about 20 years ago.
"I came here from Kuala Kurau, Perak, in 1986, after staying here about a year I felt like returning back home, couldn't take it initially, I was virtually living in a jungle, no electricity, thank god for the patience, never thought Mempaga will transform into a township like this," he said.
It's an irony that Jamaluddin now misses the old environment that he disliked when he first put his foot here.
"In fact many of the settlers including me were initially apprehensive when offered to join Feldajaya as we felt we couldn't afford the houses worth RM139,000," he said.
"But after being cajoled by my children, I took up the offer. Maybe my children will benefit from this development programme," he said.
What is important is that, he said, the Felda Jaya can open up job opportunities for the settlers' children including his two children, Siti Nurhafizah, 25, who is now working in Kuala Lumpur and Mohd Hafifi, 24, who is studying in Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) in Tanjung Malim.
Within half a century of independence, Felda has contributed immensely to Malaysia's social engineering and has provided a meaningful participation of the rural population in the nations economic growth in the post independence era.
-- BERNAMA
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