No regrets leasing land to bauxite miners, say cash-strapped Felda settlers

Mohamed Fadzil Yusoff lost nearly half of his oil palm trees in Felda Bukit Goh when they were felled to make way for bauxite mining. But the 47-year-old does not regret losing any of the cash crop although the total harvest from his holdings is now only RM250 a month. His feelings are shared by many of Bukit Goh’s settlers who “leased” their lands to bauxite miners after their incomes shrank because of the global rout in commodity prices. Some even believe that leasing the land to bauxite mining was better than harvesting oil palm because of the easy money. Bauxite mining may have scarred much of Bukit Goh, turned parts of Kuantan red and polluted a stretch of Pahang’s coastline but for the cash-strapped settlers, the mineral was a life saver. After Putrajaya banned all bauxite mining for three months starting January 6, Bukit Goh settlers who leased their lands might lose their property as the Pahang authorities claimed the mines were illegal. “Bauxite gave us a good income. Even if you did not want to do it, everyone around you were doing it, so you’re just forced into it then. We have no regrets leasing out our land,” Fadzil, 47, told The Malaysian Insider. Fadzil, a second-generation settler in Bukit Goh, was among 248 who had leased their lands to miners. He said he received RM100,000 as a deposit from the miners after he leased them one third of the 4ha he inherited from his father. “Before the moratorium, I signed an agreement with a miner who took one third of my land. I got RM100,000 and I divided it between the five inheritors of this land. “But now there is no activity on the land and many of the trees are gone. So my income has been reduced.” Fadzil would not reveal how much the deal was worth after the miners finished extracting all bauxite from the land. Another settler, Razak Abdullah counts himself as more fortunate – he signed a deal with a miner but Putrajaya declared the moratorium before the heavy machinery moved in and ploughed the land. “I signed and got an RM100,000 deposit. Three weeks later, the moratorium was enforced. Many of my trees are still standing.” Like Fadzil, Razak does not believe he lost out. “Money from bauxite is more like short-term profit. Oil palm profits are long term but now I feel that it is better for settlers to get involved in bauxite compared with oil palm.” They are worried about the moratorium as the miners will not pay the total amount promised if mining is halted halfway. Bauxite mining in the Kuantan district went into high gear in mid-2014 to feed increased demand from China. The mineral is an important component in the manufacture of aluminium. Although it was a cash cow for the settlers and land owners, the majority of Kuantan residents, especially those living along the road to the port, have been enraged by the pollution it causes. In December, rivers around Bukit Goh and the coastline around Kuantan turned red because of bauxite spills. State government sanctions Pahang government sources were quoted in a New Straits Times report on January 20 as saying that all mining in Felda Bukit Goh was illegal. The daily also reported Pahang Land and Mines director Datuk Nazri Abu Bakar as saying the department was looking at the national land code for ways to penalise land owners for allowing illegal mines. Nazri said such action could also include seizing the land. The Bukit Goh coordinating committee, a group representing the settlers, said this was unfair as the owners have tried to legalise the mines on their lands. “We sent a memorandum to the state government last year to get licences for the mines, but none was forthcoming,” said committee secretary, Shahrudin Mohd. It was unfair of the state government to blame its inability to regulate bauxite mining on the settlers, he said. “When no licences or regulations are given, settlers and miners do not know what is legal or illegal. That is why we wanted the government to come out with rules and procedures that can be followed and enforced,” said Shahrudin. Another settlers’ group, National Felda Settlers’ Children’s Association (ANAK), has defended the owners’ right to use their land as they saw fit. ANAK chairman Mazlan Aliman also said Felda should do a better job of regulating non-cash crop activities in their settlements as Felda Bukit Goh was not the first to venture into mining. “There is no reason for the state government to seize their land as it belongs to them. It is unwise to threaten them with penalties. They should talk about the issues first,” said Mazlan. He said the land owners of Felda Chiku, in Gua Musang, Kelantan have also gone into tin mining to supplement their income. Felda has to offer alternative economic activities for their plantations when oil palm trees mature and were no longer productive, he added. Shahrudin agreed, saying oil palm was no longer viable and that bauxite-mined land should be developed. – February 20, 2016.