When LBJ came calling at Felda LBJ

A giant arch welcomes outsiders to Kpg LBJ which was once upon a time a felda settlement visited by non other than the President of the United States Lyndon B Johnson. UU BAN/The star

IF there is one reason why settlers in Felda LBJ walk with a spring in their step, it is because theirs is the only scheme ever visited by the US president.

The scheme, located some 25km from Seremban and initially known as Felda Labu Jaya, hosted its most important visitor back in 1966 when President Lyndon Baines Johnson dropped by to see for himself the ubiquitous-yet-humble rubber tree which had helped put Malaysia on the world map and how latex was produced.

The president not only made time for the visit to the scheme, he even tried his hand at tapping rubber, although he was in the country for less than 21 hours in a whirlwind tour of the region.

Opened in 1961, the scheme first had 504 settlers and was later renamed after Johnson.

However, if today’s youth are asked about the acronym for LBJ in the name of one of the earliest Felda settlements in the country, chances are high one will draw a blank stare.

Johnson, who was the 36th President of the United States, had visited the scheme on Oct 30, 1966, after the official ceremonies at Parliament where he was welcomed by Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Johnson’s visit to the scheme was also to have a first-hand understanding of efforts taken by the Malaysian government to eradicate poverty among the rural folk.

Johnson, who had also introduced several anti-poverty initiatives back home, was keen to learn from the Malaysian experience.

Apart from Johnson’s visit, the settlement had hogged the limelight when in 1996, the Negri Sembilan Development Corporation and Tabung Haji acquired the land from the settlers to build the state’s technology corridor.

The settlers received a payout of RM47mil – each receiving between RM1.2 and RM2mil, depending on the size of the land.

After the settlers had disposed of their land, the LBJ acronym remained and the area was renamed Kampung LBJ. Many of the pioneers have also left the area and today, Kampung LBJ is a serene and quiet neighbourhood while developments outside its boundaries continue.

Whatever little memories the people have of Johnson’s visit are passed through word of mouth.

Businessman Jeffri Mat, 43, vividly remembers his father talking about Johnson whom he described as a extremely tall and the first Mat Salleh he remembered to have ever set foot in the settlement.

“My dad used to say that the villagers had to literally look up to Johnson as he was way taller than them.

“The president’s visit was also remembered as the villagers had never seen such a big group of orang putih in their kampung before,” he said, adding that the members of Johnson’s delegation also included security personnel as well as other government officials.

Jeffri said Johnson was also described as humble by many.

“He had no qualms when asked if he would like to try his hand at tapping rubber.”

Retired clerk Suffian Che Johar, 67, said prior to Johnson’s visit, most of the settlers had only heard of president John F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1963.

“Most of us only knew that Johnson was president Kennedy’s deputy when he visited.

“We were so proud that Johnson had actually chosen to visit our scheme from the many that were already open then,” he said.