Sat 24.1.2026.
Jamaluddin called last week. He's not listed in my mobile phone, so I ignored his first call. Wisely, he resorted to messaging in the Whatsapp, requesting to call again, which I answered straight away. It was an invitation to Felda Angkut's Golden Anniversary last night at the Tenera Hotel, Bangi. Of course it's now "FGV Transport", but to me it's the Felda Angkut of old.
I was GM from 1.6.1985 - 31.12.1990 - a five and a-half year stay. I was 40. I'd been GM in 2 other Felda Corporations prior to that. At 35 in 1980 I was the GM for Felda Niaga, from 1.3.1980 to 30.6.1982. From 1.7.1982 to 31.5.1985 I was the GM in Felda Mills Corporation.
But in the end, my service in Felda Angkut was the longest stint in my entire varied working career that ended at the end of 1999, which was also my official retirement age of 55.
The fact that it was a 50-year celebration, and that it was 35 years ago that I left Felda Angkut, made it easy to decide to come. Jamaluddin was the Felda Pasoh settler's son I took into Felda Angkut at the request of his mother, who was a member of our Board. I not only gave him a job, but also a wife, because I recruited a girl from Bukit Temensu into Felda Angkut at around the same time, and they met and eventually got hitched together.
Jayos, Hamdan and Zainal Ujud also came, and we were from the same old establishment. The other CEO's at Table 6 last night were from outside old Felda, as has the entire FGV establishment been formed.
We were honoured with small plaques, which was ok, I guess, but the crowd did not share any close reminiscences in the staged presentation. That would have made the night memorable to me. But it's an FGV function, so what can I say. But a few people did approach me with recognition. There was Salleh, from HQ, Syed Alwi, who was in Temerloh, and Mat Darmin's daughter whom I also recruited. And Jamaluddin, of course.
Jayos had told me he was coming yesterday, and we met at the Magrib prayers before the start of the function, as did Zainal Ujud. But Hamdan I missed completely, when in fact we were at the same Table 6. Only later did Jayos tell me, as we were both leaving the hall, that it was in fact Hamdan who was sitting beside him. He did not at all look like the Hamdan that I knew well, and he did not communicate with me the entire time. Maybe I also did not look like the guy he knew the 21 years I was in the Felda Group.
How time has passed, and the world around us has changed. Many of us are gone, and the Felda I knew is also no more. The inheritors of Felda Angut spoke of the company's progress through the past 5 decades, and I say "good for you". But you can't deny the place of history, and cannot compare the hardship endured by the pioneers with your proudly declared achievements through the years. And remember also the hard-earned successes of old Felda compared with the tortious management of boardroom FGV. Maybe they are two different animals, requiring two different evaluation.
I'm the past, like Jayos and the others. But what you have now came from the past. Appreciate that.
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