JENGKA: Amendments to the Land (Group Settlement Areas) Act 1960 are among the measures being reviewed to resolve long-standing issues affecting Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) settlers, especially housing for the second generation, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).
The Prime Minister said this would allow more than one home to be built on a residential lot, noting that he has ordered Felda to complete the draft within two months.
He added that it will then be brought to the Cabinet and targeted to be tabled in Parliament this year.
He also addressed issues surrounding some 8,000 housing units, which comprise two houses being built on one lot and have been lived in since Dec 31 last year.
“While we wait for the Act to be passed, I am giving immediate approval for water and electricity supplies to be restored there,” he said, adding that the relevant authorities have been instructed to carry this out.
The Prime Minister said this in his address at the Felda Settlers’ Day and Felda's 70th anniversary celebration at Stadium Tun Abdul Razak here on Tuesday (July 7).
Anwar also touched on the Felda New Generation Housing Project, which began in 2013, comprising 43 lots and 8,024 housing units.
He said 12 lots, or 29.8%, have been completed while 13 are still under construction.
He explained that delays were caused by various issues, including unorganised planning and inefficient monitoring.
“I have asked the management to closely review each project, with progress reports to be issued every two months,” he said.
The Prime Minister also announced measures to address issues related to Sentuhan Kasih Felda projects, with RM20mil allocated to resolve the project.
As for Felda Generation Lots, he said some 31,594 lots have been identified, with only 10,022 land titles, while the remainder have yet to receive any.
“We will discuss this with state governments, as previous agreements were that the infrastructure costs would be borne by the state.
“I know there is a need to discuss and negotiate as done between the Pahang state government and the federal government,” he said.
He added that this will also be brought up during his next meeting with all the Mentri Besar and Chief Ministers.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the government spends almost RM1bil annually to pay for Felda's debts due to management misappropriation.
“Is this the community settler’s fault? No. It’s the fault of the management or those entrusted, who misused them.
“We must not repeat this mistake. The amounts we pay for debts can instead be used for the settler community,” he said.
