Laws regulating Felda to be reevaluated for better governance

Existing acts regulating Felda will be reevaluated to see if these need to be improved or amended for better governance in the future, Mohd Radzi Md Jidin said today.

The deputy economic affairs minister said this would help improve check and balance capabilities in Felda's management system to prevent further fraud from occurring in the governance of the board.

Felda's woes resulted from allegedly poor board governance and management, he said. 

“This is because the existing Felda system was disrespected and damaged, and everything violated."

Due to failed and uncontrollable governance, the deputy minister noted, Felda's debt increased significantly by 1,100 percent from RM1.2 billion in 2007 to RM14.4 billion in 2017, while asset value increased only 107 percent from RM12.1 billion to RM25 billion in the same period.

Radzi said this after giving a briefing on Felda issues at the Communications and Multimedia Ministry in Putrajaya today.

Citing the forensic audit findings on eight Felda’s investments, including the purchase of a stake in Indonesia’s Eagle High Plantations at higher than market price, Radzi said this proved that the previous Felda management team had infringed on the decision-making process.

Former board members

During the briefing, Felda director-general Othman Omar, who was asked about the status of former board members, said actions had been taken against them, including being removed from critical positions for the time being.

"Fifteen former board members are currently on leave, some on unpaid leave, while others were transferred to Felda subsidiaries and assumed non-critical positions," he said.

Othman (photo) said he was in consultation with lawyers to ascertain and evaluate whether these board members were “victims” or “perpetrators” in previous management decisions.

"We will respect their rights to prove that they had taken the necessary actions," he said.

Radzi, meanwhile, said the forensic audit findings on the eight investments were only part of the cases uncovered in Felda.

“Some cases have been completed, some cases have been dealt with by the authorities, while some are still being scrutinised. 

"The eight are part of the whole cases, there are many more cases uncovered," he said.

The deputy minister expressed confidence that Felda will recover within the next five years, following the presentation of the White Paper by Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali in the Dewan Rakyat on April 10.

"We are very concerned about the problems faced by settler and Felda, and we are implementing the plans that have been formulated and we expect the impact will be reflected in five years’ time," he said.