“Factual background recorded by the HRP, Malaysia based on newspaper articles reported in Malaysian newspapers:”
10.4 Factual background recorded by the HRP, Malaysia based on newspaper articles reported in Malaysian newspapers:
To administer the above programmes, the UMNO led government set up various Development Agencies to implement its various programs of the NEP. The major ones are:
a. FELDA ( Federal Land Development Authority)
b. FELCRA ( Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority)
c. RISDA (Rubber industry Smallholder Development Authority)
d. MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat Malaysia)
e. FAMA (Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority)
f. KESEDAR (South Kelantan Development Authority)
g. DARA (South East Pahang Development Agency)
h. KEDA (Kedah Development Authority)
i. PERDA (Penang Regional Development Authority)
j. KEJORA (South East Johor Development Authority)
k. KETENGAH (Terengganu Regional Development Agency)
- Large part of the National Budget was channelled through those agencies in respect of the various development programs for the rural and agricultural sector. All of those programs and projects only benefited the majority Malay community as affirmative actions. There was no allocated fund in any of the programs and projects for Indians in the country. This is the scale of usurpation in the Agricultural Sector.
- Almost all low income Indians were denied agricultural land ownership in any and all of the schemes in the government run FELDA, FELCRA, RISDA, FAMA, Agropolition 10 acres land ownership schemes, This is also in the 13 State Government Land Schemes.
- FELDA started as a modest program in 1956. Today it has become a giant organization. The schemes it manages now covers an area of 2 million acres and touches the lives of more than 530,000 people, all Malays. The 2005 results of FELDA show a total turnover of RM 12 Billion. The profits are over 700 million.
- FELDA’s main role is to open up new land areas for agriculture and relocation of low income and landless rural inhabitants. The founding charter does not stipulate that this was to be a Malay Development Program but in reality the FELDA program is almost entirely for the Malay poor and landless.
- The implementation of the above programmes, show clear evidence of systematic and wholesale exclusion of Indians from these programs.
12,000 FELDA agricultural land ownership schemes with 800,000 hectares and 200,000 RISDA land ownership plots of land for Malays but almost all Indian plantation workers have been excluded (see UM dated 20/3/09; page 16 and UM dated 6/2/09 page 14 respectively)
The FELDA Jengka land ownership schemes have 98% Malay Muslims participation.
RM 1,200.00 per month for 10,000 poor in Gahai Land Ownership Schemes (UM dated 1/3/09; page 5). But the Indians have been completely excluded.
- RM 58,000.00 per person in FELCRA Land Ownership Scheme dividends (UM 25/2/09 page 27). But again not a single Indian benefited from this FELCRA scheme.
429,375 hectares and 163,172 cows at the government Kawasan Tumpuan Sasaran (KTS) land ownership schemes (UM 24/3/09 page 9); but zero allocation for land for Indians under this scheme.
- 7,000 hectares of land for food production (NST 14/11/09 page 6). But we do not know of any Indian having been granted any plot from the 7,000 hectares of land.
- Another case study relates to Mr Shanmugam, a third generation Indian cattle farmer who has been operating his farm in KL. He stood to lose his livelihood with no alternative land available under the UMNO’s DBKL.
- Malaysia imports 75% of its beef; 95% of its milk and 90% of its mutton. But a third generation cattle and goat farmer Mr Shanmugam was not given grazing land as would be granted to any other deserving Malay Muslim cattle farmer. In addition to the above disadvantage, his cattle farm is to be demolished very soon by the KL City Council. Indian farmers like Shanmugam are discriminated against for State assistance and in many cases they are even hounded out of their traditional farming occupation.
- Agropolitan is an initiative programme aimed at eradicating hardcore poverty through various agricultural and agro-based development projects. It brings together a group of hardcore poor into a sustainable, all-encompassing community. Each family head or main participant, will be involved in primary activities, either in palm oil, rubber or cocoa, and will be provided with monthly income and allotted shares. To the knowledge of the HRP, there is no known case of hardcore poor Indian who has benefited under the Agropolitan initiative
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