Mixed feelings: (from left) Felda settlers Rohaizad, Subuki, Perumal, Lim and husband Ooi, have expressed their concerns over various issues from not receiving aid and the rising cost of living to better infrastructure and housing for the second generation of settlers.

       KOTA TINGGI: With just five days to the state polls, political parties are rushing to win the hearts of more than 150,000 voters in 73 Felda settlements statewide.

       The Felda votes, once regarded as “fixed deposits” for Barisan Nasional, began slowly moving away from the coalition before the 14th General Election with more than a dozen seats slipping to Pakatan Harapan in the last election.

       This Felda voting bloc is quite a sizable one as it involves swing votes in at least 25 to 30 of the 56 seats in the state.

       Felda voters now seem to be torn between Barisan and Perikatan Nasional as they feel leaders from both sides have helped them.

       The older generation want to continue to support Barisan, which started the settlements, while the younger generation lean towards Perikatan, believing the coalition did much for them when in power.

       In The Star’s last visit to four major Felda settlements, there were grouses about the rising cost of living, lack of job opportunities, need for better infrastructure and homes for the second generation.

       In Felda Lok Heng here, Iwan Hairan, 41, said he was still undecided as to who to support as both sides have done good for their settlements.

       “I know that Barisan, Perikatan and even Pakatan have all come up with specific manifestoes to help Felda settlers.

       “However, the fight is between Barisan and Perikatan. Pakatan did not keep its promises in GE14,” he said, adding that he and his wife have traditionally been Barisan voters.

       Noreliza Hashim, 36, from the same settlement said she and her family would vote Perikatan as they feel that its chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been good to the settlers.

       “One of the biggest issues was the housing for the second generation which has yet to be settled.

       “I hope the new government looks into this issue,” she said, adding that in the last election, the Umno candidate for Johor Lama switched to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) soon after winning.

       She said that this time, the son, Mohamad Alias Rasman, was standing and the candidate was down to earth.

       Meanwhile for Ooi Wah Hing and his wife Lim Guaik Nyee, both 76, from Felda Linggui, this election was quite a “confusing one” with so many parties contesting in the Panti seat.

       “This is the only Felda in Johor where we have a sizeable number of Indian and Chinese voters out of the 498 settlers,” Ooi said.

       He said the rising cost of living was among their biggest problems but the high palm oil price has cushioned the impact.

       P. Perumal, 76, a first generation Felda settler, said both Barisan and Perikatan had helped the settlers.

       “Under Pakatan rule, we suffered. In fact, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad started forcing settlers to pay up loans when he was prime minister in 2018. Due to the low price of palm oil at the time, I was only taking home RM300 to RM500 a month and my debt to Felda increased to RM130,000.

       “Muhyiddin at least helped knock off a RM100,000 debt from each settler.

       “Now, I only have a loan of RM30,000 and with the increased price of palm oil, I am earning about RM3,000 each month,” he said.

       Meanwhile, third generation settler Subuki Sowinagan, 67, from Felda Lenga in Labis, said his income had stagnated at about RM1,000 to RM1,200 due to the uncertainties in palm oil prices.

       “But the cost of living continues to rise. I hope the relevant authorities can help with some form of assistance,” said the father of 10.

       Subuki and his youngest daughter run a small stall outside their house to make ends meet.

       Norhafizah Abdul Jalil, 42, a second generation settler, is hoping for more affordable housing for second and third generation settlers.

       “Most of us have big families and cannot afford to buy our own homes,” he said.

       Rohaizad Baki, 61, said that under the Pakatan government, he had not received any aid.

       “It is as if we were forgotten. I will pick a government that is capable of taking care of us,” he said.

       In Segamat’s Felda Medoi, one of the oldest Felda settlements in the state, village head Sulaiman Yaakob, 48, said infrastructure and development was the top priority for the people.

       He said Internet connectivity was also a concern, especially for students who have to do home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).

       “I have received complaints from teachers. It is not that the students don’t want to learn, but they cannot even open the documents due to slow Internet issues,” he said when met here.

       “We also need more houses for the second and third generation of settlers as our population is growing,” said the father of four.

       Another second generation settler Sulaiman Mazlan Abdullah, 54, said the government needed to find ways to create more job opportunities locally.

       “My son is a local university graduate but he cannot find a job. So he is helping me to take care of my small business temporarily,” he said. He also urged the authorities to improve the roads and connectivity between neighbouring Felda settlements.