FOR Felda settler Abdul Rahim Mohd Said, welcoming former prime minister Najib Razak back to his village in Sg Koyan was like greeting an old friend.

“I’ve known him for over four decades, ever since he was Pahang menteri besar in the 80s when he first visited Sg Koyan. And he has never stopped visiting us since,” said the 61-year-old settler.

Najib’s effect on urban or semi-urban Malay voters in the past four by-elections since the 14th general election may have been negligible or at worst, negative.

He faces a laundry list of fraud charges in court and was blamed for the runaway inflation in the cities due to his goods and services tax (GST).

But in the sprawling Malay villages of Sg Koyan – a critical voting bloc in the Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election – he is literally “the man”. Najib can go to almost every corner of the Felda settlements and claim, “I did this”.

And that is exactly what he did yesterday when he campaigned for Barisan Nasional’s Rahim Mohd Nor who is contesting the Cameron Highlands seat against Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) M. Manogaran and two independents Sallehuddin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee.

The RM5 million Sultan Ahmad Shah Al Muhajirin mosque in Sg Koyan was built by Najib. The new roads connecting Sg Koyan to Cameron Highlands and Kuala Lipis? Also by Najib.

The new road going to the Orang Asli settlement of Pos Betau? Also by him but, it was canceled by the new Pakatan Harapan government, according to Pahang Menteri Besar and Pahang BN chairman Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.

The affection for Najib was evident as soon as he arrived on the back of a motorcycle for his visit with the settlers of Sg Koyan yesterday. Villagers mobbed him for selfies and he took almost 20 minutes to walk from the gate of the community hall to the stage.

In comparison, when Anwar Ibrahim, PH’s next prime minister arrived for a mega-ceramah on January 17, it hardly caused a stir among locals.

The same thing happened at the mosque after Friday prayers yesterday. Villagers lined-up to shake Najib’s hand. A PH cabinet minister who prayed next to Najib was hardly recognised by those in the mosque.

“He’s like such an old friend and everyone here is fond of him,” said Rahim of Felda Sg Koyan 3 when explaining Najib’s popularity and the warmth felt towards the former prime minister.

The three felda settlements in Sg Koyan contribute about 2,800 votes, a significant number given that the winning majority for Cameron Highlands in the last general election was less than 500 votes.

Felda’s golden age under BN

Another big part of Najib’s popularity is also due to how Felda settlers remember life under his administration and the hardships they are facing now ever since Pakatan Harapan took over Putrajaya last May.

“Our lives are so different now than before GE14. It’s just like Najib said in his speech,” said Sg Koyan 2 settler Abdullah Maulud.

“Under him we used to earn in the thousands, two to three thousand per month. Now it’s just a few hundred per month. Last month I only earned RM400 from my harvests,” said Abdullah.

“Right now, we feel abandoned. There’s been no aid from the government. No bonus, no aid for school supplies.”

The PH government had recently announced a special RM77 million payout to settlers to clear their outstanding payments.

But the announcement was pilloried by Najib, who said: “The government can’t even pay the living allowance on time, now they want to give Felda RM77 million. Before the general election (PH) they said they wanted to wipe out 50% of all the settlers’ debt. But what has happened now? You don’t hear of any of these promises anymore.”

Najib received a similar reception when he visited Kg Tanjung Gahai, an Orang Asli community where about 300 people came out to meet to him.

“Najib has helped the Orang Asli a lot during his time as prime minister. He gave us new homes, new village roads. We’re very happy to see him,” said 58-year-old Salleh Batin Yai.

Another villager, Mohd Zin Razali, 50, said Najib was the same as he first met him years ago at an agriculture expo.

“From the first time I saw him, till today, he’s the same man. He’s really sincere.” – January 19, 2019.