MURUT CLAIM SHORTCHANGED BY FELDA

TAWAU: Felda settlers from the Murut community at Felda Kalabakan Tengah I and II plantations here claim they have been treated unfairly, causing them to feel there is nothing special about being a settler.

Kg Murut Ulu Kalabakan village head, Antik Awed, said this is especially when each of them only received a dividend of RM3,000 for 2009 and in 2010, just RM4,000.

He said this was contrary to what had been reported in the local media on April 30 this year, that the average net income of every settler in the State in 2010 was RM1,860.32 per month or RM22,323.89 per year.

"We are sad and not happy because what we have actually received is so much lesser than what had been published in the media.

The fact is that most of us are still forced to do other work to support our family," he said.

He said they were also made to understand that none of them are qualified to receive the "durian runtuh" for all Felda settlers as announced by the Prime Minister recently.

Antik claimed they had also applied through the Koperasi Pembangunan Murut Berhad annual general meeting to Felda to build houses for them as well as requested for a school bus for their children but nothing had been forthcoming until today.

They appealed to the Government and Felda to do an immediate review on their rights as settlers in the plantation as they are still unclear about this until today, because they were not given the copy of a memorandum related to the opening of the plantation.

Felda has also failed to fulfil its promise to come up with a new memorandum on the 50-50 per cent profit sharing with the Murut community at the plantation, as had been agreed upon in 2010.

There are 235 settlers in the plantation and some 7,217 acres developed by Felda there belongs to the Murut community.