Warm welcome: Ismail Sabri arriving at the ‘Himpunan Warga Felda Teguh Bersama’ programme at the public hall in Felda Mayam. — Bernama
BERA: Felda settlers will continue to be taken care of by the government, including the second generation, as they are special, says caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the various incentives given to the settlers from the beginning of the Felda land settlement programme was proof of how special they were to the government.
“Even when Felda was faced with a deluge of problems, the settlers were never neglected,” he was quoted by Bernama as saying in his speech at the “Himpunan Keluarga Felda, Teguh Bersama” programme at Felda Mayam here yesterday.
Also present were former Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Felda chairman Tan Sri Idris Jusoh.
The government’s special treatment, said Ismail Sabri, was not only limited to the settlers but had since been extended to their second generation as shown by the various incentives announced for this group recently.
This, he added, included improvements to the Felda New Generation Housing Project (PGBF) with the introduction of the Felda generation land lot initiative which had seen 8,670 lots identified, and 770 approved.
“For (PGBF) Bera, I hope this can be expedited if the site has been identified... call for an interview immediately if there’s an application (and) expedite approval for the second generation,” he said.
He said RM20mil had also been allocated by Felda while more had been announced under the Budget 2023 as housing loans for young people, including the second generation of Felda settlers, through the Housing Credit Guarantee Scheme. Ismail Sabri also urged Felda to reduce bureaucracy and expedite applications for the Felda Youth Entrepreneur Fund, which had been allocated a revolving fund of RM10mil, for the second generation.
Twenty-three applications had been received so far, he said.
Describing the Felda settlers as “very loyal voters” in the history of the Barisan Nasional government, Ismail Sabri said he hoped that they would continue to ensure victory for the coalition in Pahang as well as at the federal level in the 15th General Election (GE15).
“I guarantee that if we win big, there will be political stability, our economy will improve.
“The ones to benefit will be all of you as loyal citizens.
“Felda (settlers) is our real fixed deposit. They are the ones who have been very loyal to the government that we led before,” he added.
