FELDA TURNAROUND IN TWO YEARS
Assets being disposed of to address financial problem, says new chairman
THE Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) could be turned around in a minimum of two years to bring it back into the pink of financial health and be at its peak of palm oil productivity.
Its new chairman, Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor, said plans to improve the situation at the agency included improving the cash flow, restructuring the management team, collaborating with settlers, achieving sustainability targets and appointing new board members.
He said one of the problems experienced by Felda was cash flow shortage and to address it, the agency would dispose of several assets (in London, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia) and sell its stakes in some companies.
“We have ways to address the problem.
“We have disposed of assets, shares and land to recover the money and it is still ongoing.
“We need to reach a stage where we can the highest price for the assets.
“But, I can’t tell how much we can recover.
“However, we are trying our best to pare down the debt from RM8 billion to RM6.5 billion,” he said in a press conference here yesterday.
He was chairing the press conference for the first time after being appointed as the chairman in July to replace Tan Sri Shahrir Samad.
Present were outgoing Felda director-general Datuk Ab Ghani Mohd Ali, deputy director-general (management) Datuk Muzzammil Mohd Nor and deputy director-general (commodity development) Anuar Malek.
He said the agency’s financial problem could have been due to poor financial planning and previous administrations’ malpractice.
He, however, did not want to speculate on the matter as it was being investigated by police.
He said the agency would probe the causes and include it in the white paper to be presented to the government.
“We have to include all the details and findings in the white paper and present it to the government later this year.
“The government will decide on matters to be highlighted in the white paper, which will be presented in Parliament’s next session.
“The discussion and submission of the details is ongoing.”