PRIME Minister Najib Razak should inform the people where the money for the RM1.588 billion in incentives for Felda settlers would come from.

Former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin in a Facebook post today dismissed the incentives that Najib announced on Sunday as “electoral sweets” that do nothing to solve the government land agency’s productivity issues.

Muhyiddin, who is also Bersatu president, said it was unlikely that Felda’s profits would be used to pay for the incentives to settlers.

“Therefore, I would like to ask Najib, where will the money come from?

“RM1.588 billion is not a small amount. It is 3.5% of the government’s development allocation of RM46 billion, or 5% of the government’s supply and services allocation of RM32 billion, as stated in the 2017 Budget.

Muhyiddin said Najib had a responsibility to inform the people where the money for the incentives would be sourced.

“I would also like to ask Najib, where is the recovery plan that will save Felda and profit its settlers?”

He said the incentives would help settlers in the short term, but Felda’s profitability and productivity issues remain resolved.

“Giving one-off incentives before a general election is not a true solution. The incentives will lighten the settlers’ burden for a short while.

“With the late payment for palm oil harvests continuing and the monthly income (of the settlers) dwindling, settlers continue to be burdened with several problems.”

He said the lack of good governance led to Felda making investment decisions that were unprofitable, such the listing for Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV).

“The listing of FGV on Bursa Malaysia should have made profits for Felda, but, instead, falling share prices caused RM1.2 billion in intangible losses. This does not include the various embezzlements that occur in Felda through unfeasible transactions, such the purchase of foreign real estate at above market prices. It is clear that some parties are raking in huge profits, while Felda settlers bear the burden.”

Muhyiddin said a complete solution would be for Felda to record profits, enabling it to give good returns to the settlers.

“Unfortunately… Najib did not announce any turnaround plans for Felda that will bring long-term benefits for settlers. What was announced were electoral sweets to garner support among settlers who are increasingly losing faith in Najib’s kleptocratic government.”

He said Najib was repeating the tactics used ahead of the 2013 elections, when the government handed out to settlers a “windfall” worth RM1.7 billion.

“The incentives then were only electoral sweets and not a comprehensive solution. Felda settlers are still saddled with problems.

“Because of this, Pakatan Harapan is offering to revitalise Felda as a way to solve settlers’ woes, and return Felda to become a profit generating entity that the Malaysian people can be proud of.” – July 28, 2017.