FELDA MAKES BIG DREAMS COME TRUE FOR SOME ....

Felda makes big dreams come true

Amirulla Sudin (right) with wife Muriati Asnawir and son Mohd Iswan posing in front of their RM1 million bungalow in Felda Umas in Tawau, Sabah.

TAWAU 2011/09/20: Amirulla Sudin owns a RM1 million bungalow and several luxury vehicles that prove he has done well at the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) Umas settlement scheme here.

All these would have only been a dream if he had decided not to join Felda 21 years ago.

Now, Amirulla earns up to RM60,000 per month.

"It is really a blessing in disguise. When I first came to Felda Umas in 1990 and several other people, some of us had second thoughts. Some left after a few years.

"It was really hard at first. I started with just a few hectares of land and worked hard on it. You only see the yield after five or six years, so it takes a lot of patience,"

said the award-winning 53-year-old settler, who is married to Muriati Asnawir, 45, and has nine children.

But once his oil palm plantation started bringing in revenue, Amirulla did not stop there as he quickly diversified into livestock.

"I ventured into cattle breeding in 2000 with six heads and zero knowledge," he said.

Unperturbed, Amirulla took up an intensive course with the Veterinary and Livestock Department and soon, his livestock increased ten fold.

"Now, I have more than 500 cows and I sell them to buyers at an average of RM2,000 per cow. Most of my buyers are locals. Sometimes, I also get orders from Sarawak and Indonesia. Felda has certainly changed my life for the better."

These days, Amirulla may not be out on the plantation as often as he used to because his son Mohd Iswan, 24, helps him out.

However, he still dedicates his time to his cattle while his wife looks after the finances and administrative work.

For single mother Udang @ Rosnah Dullah, 50, her life took a drastic turn when her husband Julhari Haiyon died in 2001.

Had it not been for Felda, the mother-of-nine admitted she may not have been able to raise her children on her own.

Besides running the oil palm plantation, she also cultivates mushrooms and operates an Internet cafe here.

"We signed up as settlers in 1987. I remember how hard it was back then for us. But we managed. However, when my husband died, I had to take charge.

"At the time, three of my sons were in higher learning institutions in the peninsula. Sadly, I had to ask them to return to help in the plantation because I could not afford to pay for their studies."

Udang, however, said Felda helped them with its housing scheme and over the years, with help from her children, things got better.

These days, she earns up to about RM10,000 a month from the plantation, her mushroom cultivation and the Internet cafe businesses.

"I can take it easy now because my older children are all working.

"Now, I can even afford to pay the school fees for my younger children," said Udang, who also won an award from Felda for her success as a settler.

Felda chairman Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, who visited the scheme recently, said there are 776 settlers there now with a population of about 3,000.

The scheme comes complete with schools, shops, a clinic, a church, a mosque, a jetty and sports facilities.

He also said that from 2000 to 2008, Felda Umas recorded an average yield of about 21 tonnes per hectare of oil palm.

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776 Felda Umas settlers to get land grants by year-end

A total of 776 settlers from Felda Umas, Tawau will be awarded a land grant for 5.6ha each by year-end,

Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran

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FELDA TIPU RAKYAT & KERAJAAN NEGERI SABAH ?

Sekiranya setiap peneroka diberikan tanah seluas 15 ekar, berdasarkan jumlah tanah tersebut, Felda sepatutnya telah mempunyai 15,000 peneroka di kawasan Felda Sahabat, Tungku.