IF YOU don’t have the time to listen, don’t get Anuar Malek to start talking about Felda. He won’t stop. As the deputy director-general of Felda, Anuar has so much to tell and share.
He’s one person who’s always willing to share his wealth of knowledge and experience. I managed to track him down in Putrajaya to get an insight into Felda’s Hari Peneroka (National Settlers Day) which is being held today at Felda Selancar 3 in Rompin, Pahang.
His office is in Menara Felda in Kuala Lumpur but Anuar regards all the Felda settlements throughout the country as his extended office.
That explained why he has such deep and passionate knowledge about Felda, its hopes and aspirations, its fears and problems.
He has been with Felda for 37 years, starting at the age of 18 as a Field Assistant earning RM370 a month at Felda Serting 4 in Bahau, Negri Sembilan.
His parents were among the first generation of Felda settlers. They were settlers at Felda Sg Kelamah in Negri Sembilan.
Anuar recalled his early years in Felda and said “Life was difficult. We must give credit to the early settlers because they made it happen. We had no piped water, no electricity. But we had plenty of guts and determination.
“At the age of 13 or so, I helped my father to supplement the family income. I helped my father from 7am to 9am to collect rubber seedlings. I got paid two sen per seedling. I remember buying four reels of long rubber hose for my mother with my first pay as a seedling gatherer.
“The hoses were used to connect piped water from a standpipe some distance away from my house. Twelve families shared one standpipe! Before I bought the hoses, all of us would use pails to carry the water from the standpipe to the house.
Life in a Felda scheme taught us to be resilient and determined,” said the 57-year-old father of four.
Things have changed since then. Felda settlers gained much confidence and grew to lead a much better life, with their children getting better education.
Many of these children have gained high-paying jobs. Some, sadly, do not return to help their parents who have aged.
As a Field Assistant, Anuar moved throughout the land and there were no tarred roads then.
His mother insisted that he work for Felda and didn’t allow him to enlist as a short-commssioned second lieutenant in the army.
“Imagine her joy when I was accepted as a Felda employee. I persevered. Several years after landing the job, I sat for the Higher School Certificate exams by studying on my own.
“I then enrolled as an off-campus student with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in 1999 and graduated in 2002 with a degree in corporate communication. That is why I’m eternally grateful to my parents and Felda,” he said.
How does he see Felda settlers today? From what he observed, the settlers went through four phases — extreme difficulty; stable and comfortable; well-off and complacent; and now back to difficult again. The first 20 years was a struggle, every bit of the way.
The second 20 years was much better because Felda provided lots of amenities and infrastructure. After 40 years, life really got better — there was money in the bank, children got good jobs and were busy building careers.
That’s when some degree of complacency crept in.
Anuar is hopeful that the younger generation of settlers would help raise their settlements to a new level of achievement.
More than three quarters of the settlers today are 60 years and above. Over the years, 70,000 have died. He noted that there are three first-generation settlers who are already in their 90s (they joined the scheme when they were in their 30s).
His advice to the present generation: “Get involved. Felda helped made a man (or woman) of you. Return the kindness of your parents. Serve. Look at the settlement as your family’s heritage.”
His words are echoed by Norzaimila Zainudin, 42, a second-generation Felda child who is leading the push for new businesses in the land schemes:
“Today is our big day, especially to our parents who built a new life for themselves and for children like me.
“We owe it to them. And to Felda. Let’s build Felda again and try out new businesses. Some of us have returned to breed broiler rabbits, rear fish, plant cash crops and do all sorts of business. The management can’t do it on their own. They need us as much as we need them.”
Anuar has done much to repay the kindness of his parents. His mother delivered him on a “kertas gantang” with the help of a kampong midwife. Kertas gantang was a paper used to pack rice back in the 50s. He has as much pride and expectation as the settlers in today’s Hari Peneroka. Well done, anak peneroka!
Twitter:@aatpahitmanis
The writer is a former NST group editor. His first column appeared on Aug 27, 1995, as ‘Kurang Manis’