7.5.2008.
PBKF had their 9th. AGM on 26th. April at the Dewan Merak Kayangan. I had received the notice from Khairuddin, and had wanted to attend, which would have been a first time for me. We were reminded by Jayos during our exFelda golf at Nilai Spring on 22nd. April. However, something came up, and I had to miss it.
This morning I met Azimah at the Giant, Ampangan. She asked whether I attended, so it reminded me and here I am posting my blog.
I have a whole lot to say about Felda. I'll try to find time to post my comments some day, but to-day I'll just write on one issue - where is Felda going ? This is one question I would have liked to raise at the AGM.
Before the post of Chairman was "politicised" the last person to hold it was Raja Alias. The special thing about Raja Alias was, prior to that, he was also the Director General of Felda for many years. Assuming the chairmanship, after some colourful figures who had occupied it, was an easy transition, in fact a natural upgrading for Raja Alias. I believe those years that Felda was stewarded by Raja Alias, first as the DG, and later as Chairman, were the vital and formative ones that made Felda what it is to-day.
Rubber was the crop of first choice in the early years, but it was the large scale opening of oil palm schemes that put Felda on the world map. Of course, it was the result of extensive studies that made the choice possible, but the fact that on hindsight this was almost a perfect decision, made in his watch, must make it undeniable that to Raja Alias accrued the full credit .
The spectacular commercial success of palm oil in the commodities market allowed Felda to rake in huge profits over the years, so much so that it was reputed that Felda at that time sat on one of the biggest cash reserves in any government held organization.
In fact, while huge profits were being made, Felda was run very, very conservatively. All administrative expenditures were stringently controlled. There were none of the free-spending ways with high-salaried appointments ,and company cars, and flush offices that seem so to be expected these days. The cars did come eventually, but it was, for many top executives, painfully slow in coming, and painfully cheap when it did come.
The story was that sometimes the GM's would ask to be dropped by their drivers away from the main entrance of the venue they were headed for, lest their counterparts, who came in their Volvos and Mercedes's, saw the GM's stepping out of their Peugeot's and Toyota's.
In short, high profits and low costs made it possible for Felda to amass a large reserve. All the time the focus was on the main core business, the commodities market.
What I hear now is that Felda is branching into, well, apparently,everything. It is involved in the soccer league, the sports car rally, in retail business in the towns, in the travel industry, in shipping,and in catering domestically and internationally, among others that's been heard of.
There was also a case of a land purchase in the open market, where before, as a government-controlled agency, Felda could acquire land from State Governments at nominal premiums. A few years ago there was a big news splash on an IPO, which fortunately did not materialise. I mean, one goes public to attract funds, but Felda was flush with cash. Going public would only open yourself to a possible unfriendly takeover.
It is easy for the inheritors of Felda to spend away all the loot so painstakingly accumulated by the pioneers. Some are even heard saying that the old management was not bright enough to see the opportunities for investments, for chances to grow even richer. Admittedly Raja Alias was not known for his risk-taking, nor his mettle for grooming real talent, but surely his narrow scope of outlook for the core business that was Felda's had meant that Felda stayed within its field of competence, and achieved real success doing just that.
I would really like to see Felda's portfolio now, and compute all the financial return to investment on all activities. As I always say, it is easy to count all the money the company makes, it's not so easy to go out and make the money in the first place. The Felda pioneers enjoyed none of the creature comforts of the present-day executives. Their salaries were a pittance compared to what is being paid now. I don't think these pioneers want any compensation for their " lost" income. But I do think that they want to see that all that they have forsaken for is not poured down the drain.
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