JAKARTA, June 30 — Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) has been highlighted in Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) as a successful model for managing agricultural land and improving rural livelihoods, with elements of the scheme proposed for the development of newly recognised border areas.
The proposal was put forward by Chairman of DPR Commission II, Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, during a hearing on Monday with Home Minister Tito Karnavian, who also heads Indonesia’s National Border Management Agency (BNPP).
DPR Commission II oversees home affairs, regional administration, agrarian affairs, and land issues.
Citing Felda as a model, Muhammad Rifqinizamy said Malaysia’s experience demonstrated how state-managed land development and plantation could improve rural livelihoods.
“There are good things from Malaysia that we should acknowledge. Back in the 1970s, Malaysia introduced the New Economic Policy centred on land redistribution. Poor families were allocated land under Felda, while plantations were managed under an organised system and settlers worked on their own land.
“People were not simply given fertiliser and seedlings and then left to their own devices. Felda was organised through a state holding, so there had to be standards for the industry. During the early years, they received wages, and once the plantations became productive, they also shared in the returns,” he said during the session, which was streamed live on YouTube.
Muhammad Rifqinizamy raised the proposal while discussing the future management of about 5,207.7 hectares in the Sinapat and Sesai border segments, following the latest Indonesia–Malaysia border delimitation agreement.
He said the land has yet to be assigned legal status despite the boundary agreement, and argued that the process should have commenced immediately after the agreement was concluded. He noted that much of the area comprises oil palm plantations previously managed by a Malaysian plantation company.
Referring to the Felda model, he proposed placing the land under Indonesia’s Land Bank before cultivation rights are granted to state-owned Agrinas and local communities, with Agrinas serving as the offtaker to ensure plantations remain professionally managed while providing residents with sustainable sources of income.
He said such an approach would allow the government to not only continue improving housing and infrastructure in border areas, but also provide residents with productive land that could become a long-term source of livelihood. — Bernama
