PUTRAJAYA has allocated RM6.23 billion to rescue Felda from its financial troubles that had started during Najib Razak’s administration, the government’s white paper on Felda revealed today.

The total allocation is in the form of loans, grants and government guarantees for the agency to restructure its loans and the debts taken by the land scheme’s settlers.

It is also to create new agricultural activities for settlers’ children, said Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali who tabled the white paper in Parliament today.

He said Felda’s debts had gone up by 1,100% from RM1.2 billion in 2007 to RM14.4 billion in 2017 due to the Najib administration’s mismanagement of the agency and the land scheme.

“In the same period, the value of Felda’s assets had only increased by 107%.

“At the same time, its profits had decreased by 590%,” Azmin said.

Najib – the eldest son of Felda’s founder Abdul Razak Hussein – was prime minister from 2009 till 2018, when his Barisan Nasional administration lost the 14th general election to Pakatan Harapan.

The Felda white paper is aimed at getting a complete picture of the land development scheme’s many financial troubles which were caused by decades of mismanagement.

The paper also outlines the PH government’s strategy at fixing the scheme, which was created in 1956 to uplift thousands of Merdeka-era Malaysians out of poverty.

About one million individuals in about 112,600 setters families currently live in 269 Felda schemes all over Malaysia. – April 10, 2019.