Adnan: Felda settlers no longer Umno vote bank

PETALING JAYA: The first generation of the Felda settlers voted for Barisan Nasional – namely Umno – without fail for decades because they felt indebted to the party for having raised them out of the poverty cycle through the settlement programmes, says one-time Umno big gun and former Pahang Mentri Besar Tan Sri Adnan Yaakob (pic).

However, such deep gratitude is not felt as much by the second and third generation settlers, said the former eight-term Pelangai state assemblyman of Barisan Nasional.

“In the past, Felda schemes were taken for granted as vote bank for Umno election candidates. This is no more.

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“The first-generation Felda settlers felt indebted to the past Umno government for giving them lands to settle on.

“The second- and third-generation Felda settlers, on the other hand, do not feel the close attachment to Umno as their elders.

“Furthermore, they are more exposed to outside news especially through social media channels,” said Adnan.

The 73-year-old pointed out that the younger generations of settlers tend to form conclusions based on the information they received instead of blindly listening to their parents.

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“Also, for the second and third generations, it’s no more about infrastructure or physical development. They want the government to provide good policies and good governance as well as transparency.

“Good governance means from top-most to bottom-most level; from the ministers to the Felda scheme managers,” said Adnan, who was the Pahang Mentri Besar between 1999 and 2018.

There are 54 parliamentary constituencies throughout Malaysia with 317 Felda settlements scattered in 11 states. Among the parliamentary constituencies with the most number of Felda settlements are Jempol with 26, Rompin and Kuala Krau with 15 each, Jerantut, Paya Besar and Bera (14 each), Jelebu (13) and Maran, Mersing and Pengerang having 12 settlements each.

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During the last general election in 2022, it was estimated that there were more than 1.5 million voters in these Felda settlements.

Pahang state assembly Opposition chief and PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that the flip-flop policies towards Felda settlers by the governments in the past had led to Felda voters to rethink their support for Barisan.

“We saw the shift in support from Felda voters started happening a few general elections ago – as far back as the 10th General Election in 1999, when we detected there was increasing support for the opposition in some state constituencies in Pahang, Kedah and Terengganu which had Felda settlements in them.

“There are a few reasons for this growing support for the opposition including the younger generations of Felda settlers getting better educated and being more exposed to information from the outside world,” said Tuan Ibrahim.

“These younger generations face their own set of problems such as unemployment and housing, which the government failed to address properly. Another reason of dissatisfaction is Felda imposing costs on settlers for replants and issues surrounding Felda road developments.”