Felda scheme transforms lives of settlers

PADANG BESAR: “I am very happy to have decided to participate in the Felda scheme when offered by the government. Otherwise, my children may not have been able to attend school because life was so hard for us before. My husband’s income as a labourer at that time was just enough to buy food for us and our five small children.”

Those are the words of Che Wa Hat, 69, when recalling the decision she and her late husband, Nanyan Saad, made to respond to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s call to join the Mata Ayer Felda scheme here in 1985.

She said participants of the Felda scheme were provided with wooden houses on a half-acre plot of land along with 10 acres of land planted with rubber tress which were two to three years old.

“While waiting for the trees to start producing latex, we were given a monthly living allowance of RM200. My husband and I planted and sold vegetables to earn a side income,” said told Bernama in an interview here, yesterday.

She said the income from Felda’s rubber plantation programme had transformed the life of her family, and now they were able to replace their wooden home with one made of bricks and stones.

“One of my children has a Master’s degree in education, three have diplomas and another one is now a contractor, all because of the government’s effort and assistance, through Felda.

“I am also grateful that this land has become our property now after the government gave the land title last October. If we were to purchase it, we wouldn’t even be able to afford half an acre. That’s why we, the settlers here, are grateful to the government,” she said.

Since Felda also allowed the settlers to plant fruit trees and vegetables on vacant land, Felda Mata Ayer has also become among the largest producers of the harumanis mango in Perlis, she added.

Meanwhile, Mata Ayer Felda settlers’ chief Omar Bakar, 63, said Felda also provided facilities for settlers to boost their economy, including establishing the Felda Mata Ayer Cooperative which had been awarded projects related to agriculture, building of roads and supplying construction materials, as well as daily necessities.