THE Felda board of directors did not know about the Jalan Semarak land transfer, said national Felda settlers chief Samsudin Othman.

The Star reported that Samsudin told a press conference in Johor Baru that the board was only briefed on the proposed development to take place on the land by the previous Felda management.

The board member said they were only told that the development included a high-rise hotel that could generate income for Felda.

Samsudin, who represents the Settlers Consultation Committee on the Felda board, said other than details on the Kuala Lumpur Vertical City (KLVC) and the approval given, the board did not know who was behind the project.

The Settlers Consultation Committee represents 112,635 settlers from 317 Felda settlements nationwide.

“The previous management of Felda was not transparent when making business decisions, and did not consult us,” said Samsudin during the press conference.

He said the committee only knew of the Jalan Semarak land deal from newspaper reports.

He said the board would have objected to the project had it known earlier that ownership of the land had been transferred.

It was exposed last week that four parcels of Felda land, estimated to be worth RM1 billion, had been transferred to a private company under suspicious circumstances.

According to reports, Synergy Promenade Sdn Bhd, the developer of KLVC, is said to have paid Felda only RM270 million for the land.

Felda chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad said it had lodged a police report over the land transfer, and was seeking to regain the land.

The controversial land transfer took place during former chairman Mohd Isa Abdul Samad’s tenure.

The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar, who is being investigated in several graft cases involving Felda, has not answered queries on the transfer.

A former aide to Isa, Zahid Mat Arip, told The Malaysian Insight that the latest Felda scandal was being used to divert attention from 1Malaysia Development Bhd. – December 27, 2017.