The government will discontinue the waiver of Felda settlers’ loans worth some RM8 billion to improve the Federal Land Development Authority’s (Felda) cash flow.
In a written reply to a question raised in Parliament, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the collection of the balance of debts or loans that had been issued up to now needs to continue as a source of income for Felda for the survival of the organisation and the welfare of its settlers.
She said Felda settlers’ debt collection is an essential source of income for Felda, equivalent to 10.8% of the total expected income for the year 2023.
In July 2021, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s announced that his government had agreed to waive Felda settlers’ loans worth some RM8 billion, subject to certain conditions.
Although the government could not proceed with the debt waiver, Azalina said Felda remains committed to helping settlers, and had implemented initiatives to ensure settlers’ debt does not continue to increase, especially related to farm debt.
Among the initiatives implemented by Felda is a reduction in the tenure of the plantation replanting development programme, namely the granting of subsistence loans that was shortened from eight years to four years.
In addition, Felda has implemented a replanting programme by using the latest palm varieties, such as ‘yangambi triway’ and ‘yangambi ML 161’, with a higher yield production rate of up to 16 tons per hectare in the 48th month. Via the effort, the income of settlers can be increased in a shorter time, as they begin to be paid revenue as the real income of the farm starts in the fifth year.
