PAS has urged the replacement of Felda chairperson Mohd Isa Abdul Samad amid discontent among Felda settlers.

In a joint statement by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and PAS-linked NGO Generasi chairperson Roslan Md Isa, they accused Felda under Isa of investing heavily in overseas ventures while neglecting settlers at home.

“The fate of settlers does not seem to be as important as Felda’s real estate projects abroad.

“For example, Felda Investment Corp’s real estate project in Wembly, London has been Isa’s dream. The first two phases of the project cost £167.76 million (RM899.2 million) and the third phase is expected to cost £100 million (RM536 million).

“While Felda is expanding rapidly abroad, the housing project to build 20,000 homes for the second generation of Felda settlers, costing RM380 million, is facing delays. It was supposed to be completed in 2017 but was pushed back to 2018,” they said.

They noted that Felda has a total of 12 hotels and resorts, but settlers at home are being squeezed of their produce payment.

“The payment for Felda settlers was restructured while they are already facing hardship.

“It is affecting their daily necessities, children’s education and monthly commitment,” they said.

Tuan Ibrahim and Roslan said the lives of settlers appear to have gone downhill since the listing of Felda Global Ventures on Bursa Malaysia in 2014.

“Before the situation worsens, PAS urges drastic measures to be taken.

“The second generation housing project must be completed on time, payment for the settlers’ oil palm fruit must be made on time and settlers’ debts must be restructured so as not to burden them.

“More importantly, PAS urges that Isa be replaced if Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wishes to salvage his father’s legacy (in Felda),” they said.