PKR admits defeat in Felda settlements

PKR has conceded that it has failed to win the majority of the more than 6,000 Felda votes at stake in the Hulu Selangor by-election today.

“We started with support level of about 26 per cent, but in the end we managed to get 30 per cent, but we have achieved our target as our job here is to improve the support level,” said PKR Felda affairs bureau chief Suhaimi Said.

Suhaimi however was still confident that PKR can still win in the election based on the increase in support from other areas.

In Election 2008 PKR lost badly in all four Felda settlements in Hulu Selangor.

The party is only expected to do well in the former Felda settlement of Sungai Buaya, where more than 300 settlers have been waiting to be compensated for their land which was sold in 1994.

Suhaimi and his team of mostly second generation settlers from Pahang have been mounting an intense campaign in the settlements with the assistance of the PAS-backed second generation settlers group, Anak.

The two groups claimed that the land development authority had deviated from its original objective to help landless Malays but is now treating settlers as the source of cheap labour.

They even organised a two day national Felda settlers’ convention in the Sungai Tengi settlement that ended yesterday.

The convention was attended by PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

Khalid also announced the formation of a special body to administer the process of issuing land titles to Felda settlers in the state, in a last minute attempt to win the Malay votes.

During polling today, PKR canvassers in Felda Sungai Tengi even adopted Umno’s battle cry, ‘Hidup Melayu’ or “long live the Malays” in urging the settlers to support its candidate, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim who is facing Barisan Nasional’s (BN) P. Kamalanathan.

“BN supporters’ chants in Felda Sungai Tengi was drowned by shouts of ‘Hidup Melayu’, ‘vote Zaid’ Ibrahim,” said PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin in his tweet on @shamsuliskandar.

The Malays form about 53 per cent of Hulu Selangor’s 64,500 voters.