f;:'lffffffirepo.komazawa-u.ac.jp/opac/repository/all/16609/kci008...Socio-Economic Changes in FELDA: A Case Study of Felda Ayer Hitam, Johor State, Malaysia Yoshimi KOMOGUCHI* I

Socio-Economic Changes in FELDA: A Case Studyof Felda Ayer Hitam, Johor State, Malaysia

Yoshimi KOMOGUCHI*

I. Framework of the Study

1. Introduction

The Federal Land Development Authority(Felda: created in 1956) has been the foremostgovernment sponsored agency for human settle-ment and land development. Felda's policies andexecution of programs have had much to do withthe dynamic process of "nation building" in thecountry for nearly the past four decades. Thesehave confronted various important societal prob-lems associated with the social and economic de-velopment of the country and thus, have receivedgreat attention among researchers in various aca-demic fields, government officials, and national/in-ternational development agencies.r)

Like other social scientists, geographers alsohave had a great research interest in the settle-ment/land development schemes, since most geo-graphical studies on nature are concerned withthe problems associated with man/land relation-ships over time (historical) and space (regional).

2, The Study Objectives and Method

This study is fundamentally concerned with thesettlers' socio-economic development and re-source management in Felda's scheme areas. Itdeals primarily with a selected rural community,Felda Ayer Hitam of Kluang district, Johor state(Fig. I-l); and has the following specific objec-tives:

( 1) to clarify the structural and spatial pat-terns of the rural community with specialreference to its economic activities, and tomeasure the degree of association and inte-gration among settlers whose socio-economic backgrounds seem to vary tosome extent;

(2) ::"'lJff :3T f;:'lffffffi "":T Ji"il.tension,

(3) to identify some important elements re-sponsible for societal change and modern-ization.

In order to meet these objectives, this researchfocuses on the problems involved in the followingtopics: ( 1) landscape of settlement, (2) land de-velopment and management, (3) changing land-uses and their associations, (4) population and itschange, (5) changing occupational structure, and(6) organization of the community and itschange.

In this study, analytical emphasis will be placedupon the settlers' adaptation to and adoption ofthe changing socio-economic opportunities in andaround the rural community for which the recentMalaysian economic development seems to be lar-gely responsible. The basic analytical unit is theindividual settlers and households. The problemsinvolved in the above topics are certainly inter-woven. Thus, the description and analysis will beadvanced by integrating the physical/cultural(human) elements of the focal problems into theconceptual frame of human ecology which can beshared with various fields of social science.

The intensive field research for this study wasconducted in three phases: three months (July-September) each of the years of 1992, 1993, and1994. The most recent data of the studied villagewere arranged into those as of September 1992.

It should be noted that this paper deals mainlywith ( I )-(4) of the above topics, and the rest willbe dealt with in a separate paper.

II. Landscape of Felda Ayer Hitam

Felda Ayer Hitam (FAH: the studiedkampuntz) lvillage) is located in southern Peninsu-lar Malaysia in the state of Johor, in Kluangdistrict (Fig. I-1). The town of Kluang (district

* Departrnent of Geography,Komazawa University,Setagaya‐ ku,Tokyo 154.

89

Socio-Economic Changes in FELDA, Malaysia (Komoguchi)

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Socio-Economic changes in FELDA, Malaysia (Komoguchi)

capital) is located 215 km southeast of KualaLumpur (national capital) and 80 km northwestof Johor Bahru (state capital). The FAH's en-trance is conveniently connected with the statehighway running NE-SW between Mersing (dis-trict capital) and Batu Pahat (district capital)along which there are neighboring towns, Kluangand Ayer Hitam to each of which the traveldistance from FAH entrance is 12.8 km and 8 kmrespectively. From the highway entrance it is stillabout zkm southward by a metalled road to reachFAH gate.

Administratively, Felda Ayer Hitam belongs toone of 13 kampungs under Kluang mukim3)which is one of 9 mukimsa) under Kluang district(Fig. II-1). As far as Felda's administration isconcerned, the FAH is one of 30 schemes underthe Central Johor Office which is one of threeregional officess) currently existing in Johor state;each of which has direct linkages with its head-quarters at Kuala Lumpur and its supportingoffices located in the individual scheme areas.

The roles of Felda regional offices are multi-facetted based on the headquarters' policies andregulations, but it might suffice here to point outthe following aspects: ( I ) supervision and advicefor cropping and management, (2) regular ac-counting of crop production, (3) extension workfor adoption of advanced practice and technolo-gy, (4) credit distribution, (5) implementation ofagricultural inputs, and (6) promotion of welfareprograms. closely associated with settlers at thescheme areas, Felda's grass-roots offices havetaken responsibility for operational aspects of thework more directly under supervision of the re-gional offices. As of September 1994, there were14 staff posted in Felda Ayer Hitam, the studiedscheme area.

Figures II-2 and -3 respectively depict the phys-ical setting, and residential and associated areas ofthe studied kampung. Roughly speaking, thekampung is pentagonal in shape with a territoryof I ,776 hectares or 4,388.5 acres. The settlementarea occupies about 99 hectares and is located inthe northern section of the kampung. centeringaround Felda's office, there are post office, clinic,public hall, indoor sports house, cooperativestore, shopping center, gas station, mosque,rubber collecting center (PMG: pusat Mengu-mpul Getah), graveyard, schools and play-grounds, etc., which together form a ..settlement

core." This is partly mingled with, but largelysurrounded by residential and associated areas. Itshould be noted that the establishment has been

developed through a piecemeal process over 30years.

The initial settlement of 336 households in thekampung had occurred mostly in three phases indifferent years; i.e., phase-l: l2l households inJuly 1962; phase-2: 105 households in April 1963;and phase-3: 110 households in August 1965 andonward until 1980 (hereafter phases-l , -2, and -3will be referred to P-l,P-2, and P-3 respectively).This settlement can be regarded as one of theearlier groups among Felda's 475 schemes (as of1992). In September 1992, there were 332 house-holds with a population of I ,542 persons (male:777; female: 765). Some important changes inpopulation and related problems will be discussedin a later section.

At the initial settlement in FAH, each house-hold was provided with a residential lot (0.28acre) with a cottage and agricultural land (8acres). Besides, as a part of living maintenance,each household was provided a loan of $69.60 permonth at 6% annual interest which continued forsix years after joining FAH scheme. This loanaccounted for barely half of the living costs of ahousehold at that time.

Based on three different arrival groups in FAH,the settlers are identified as P-1, P-2, and P-3settlers; and hold the corresponding P- l, p-2, andP-3 land for residence and farming. And each ofthree "physical phases" is further subdivided into4 or 5 blocks (P-1: 5 blocks, P-2:4 blocks, and p-3: 4 blocks) (Figs. II-3 and -4). Thus, as a rule, agiven settler occupies a housing lot in the residen-tial area and one or two farming lot(s) of themain agricultural land in a specific block in one ofthree physical phases attributed to each of thesettlers.

The block-based neighborhoods in residenceand working place of agricultural fields haveplayed some important functions not only insettlers' varied socio-cultural practices includingdaily miscellaneous collaboration, regular eveningmeeting for men and women separately held ondifferent days of the week, and occasional collab-oration such as for wedding and funeral; but alsoin the collaboration for some agricultural works,€.9., hiring tractor and lorry for carrying oil palmfruits, rubber latex, fertilizers, drum water forirrigation and weeding chemical and pesticides,etc. The specific importance of the block unitshould be referred to as the "block group worksystem" adopted in the early stage of settlement inwhich the settlers worked together on an allocatedblock of fields. with regard to this, we will touch

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KLUANG DISTRICT

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一- 92 -一


on some details in the following chapter. kampung bahru (new village), it's socio-econo-This has been a basic arena for the livelihood of mies can be assumed to be naturally diferent in

the people in the kampung' Being a planned varyingwaysfromthoseoftraditionalkampungs.

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一- 93 -一

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III. Land Development and Its Manage'ment

1. Geo-ecology of Felda Ayer Hitam

The southwestern lowlying onshore line (Muar-Batu Pahat-Rengit-Benut-Pontian) along the

Straits of Mel aka gradually increases its level of

height toward the northeastern interior up to Ban-jaran Titiwangsa and Banjaran Gunung Tahanboth of which lie stretched, lowering the heightover the southern state in NNtil-SSE direction.

Roughly speaking, the western half of Johorstate seems to consist of three geo-ecological

zones: (l) coastal lowland, (2) intermediaryupland with lowland and rolling hills, and (3)upland with rolling hills and mountainous range,

一- 94 -一

socio-Economic changes in FELDA, Malaysia (Komoguchi)

in each of which agricultural land use has beenconducted to a greater or lesser extent. Thestudied kampung and its immediate surroundingarea belong to the second category of zone con-nected with the first zone which covers a 1rr5km width parallel with the coastal line along theStraits.

Specifically confined to the studied kampung,there are several steep and matured hills whichform varied sizes of valleys. The land surfaces ingeneral decrease height in a Nw-sE directionconnected with a sizeable lowland in the south-eastern section of the kampung. These hills havebeen dissected in every direction by head andsheet erosion leaving varied sizes of rocks on thetops of hills and their nearby slopes. The streamswander corresponding to the physical features,but finally discharge to the man-made reservoir(takunga air) of Machap to the southeast of thekampung.

As usually seen in Peninsular Malaysia, areasmeagerly covered with plants expose brown/red-dish soils (laterite). There are numerous swamps

@ayas) in the valleys and in some parts of thelowland in the southeastern corner of the kam-pung (Figure rr-2). These payas are usually underflood waters during monsoon rainy seasons (Apr-il-May and November-December), but most ofthem hardly reserve the flood waters for onemonth at a stretch since the waters run off quicklyto the down-streams. Thus, even these payas havebeen under agricultural use such as for vegetables,banana, and fruit trees (durian, coffee, cocoa,etc.); and grass fields for cattle grazittg.

The geo-ecological configuration in general isan integrated physical element responsible to agreater or lesser extent for determining land usesand farm operation, land conservation and man-agement, and many other aspects related to agri-cultural activities. In the studied kampung, it isassociated with such aspects as ( l ) roads andpathway net-works in settlement and agriculturalfields, (2) shapes of divisions and fields, (3) sizeand quality of fields in relation to settlers' landownership, (4) land protection and developmentworks (terracing and cultivation of cover-cropsfor preventing soil erosion, inundation and irriga-tion, etc.), and (5) selection of plantation .topr.2. Felda's Early Land Development and set-

tlers' Participation

The achievement in Felda's land developmentand settlement schemes has had much to do withthe process of settlers' participation, since the

settlers have been involved in the schemes as laborforce to a great extent especially in the initialyears. The settlers' participation varied over awide range of work in clearing the jungle forhousing lots, construction of houses, establish-ment of a rubber nursery, felling and clearing ofthe jungle for main agricultural land, planting ofmain crops, and clearing of dusun (orchard).

Examining the earlier schemes in general, it isclear that there have been many changes in meth-ods/systems of organizing settlers in the initialyears of the schemes (Shamsul and Lee 1988, 42-57). The following three methods were adopted:( I ) collective work method in which all settlers ina given scheme worked together over the wholearea; (2) allocated work method in which eachsettler was allocated his own plot to work on; and(3) block group work method in which settlersworked together in groups on specified blocks.

The first method was adopted in the expectationthat it would encourage mutual cooperationamong settlers. However, this was found to beunsuccessful. subsequently, it was hoped that thesecond method would create pride of ownershipamong the settlers, and would not only motivatethem, but also encourage the involvement of theirfamily members in the maintenance of the plot.unfortunately, even this method did not bringabout the desired results. There have been vari-ous reasons for the unsatisfactory results in theabove methods.

A marked feature at this time was the lack ofsurveys to demarcate the individual plots. conse-quently, the settlers were reluctant to put in ahard day's work when the chances were that itwould be to somebody else's benefit. Moreover,the extremely difficult task of reclaiming somel,2ooha by less than 400 workers was itself anachievement, but rather it must be point out thatthe settlers' main goal remained focused on the"very existence and the immediate planting offood crops rather than rubber." The lots werefinally allocated by ballot only after a lapse ofsome twelve months of which "some lots wereclean, most were dirty, some were planted, manywere not." Thus, the degree of land developmentin the earlier schemes and its maintenance variedover a wide range in every block of a scheme.

The consequent result of this has been intro-duction of the third method, "block group worksystem," in all rubber schemes since 1962. Thisrequired the settlers to work in groups of betweenfifteen and twenty on blocks ranging from 40 ha to80 ha during the first, second, and/or third years

―- 95 -一


of planting. They carried out the work of weed-

ing, fertilizing, pest and disease control, etc. underthe guidance of Felda staff. It should be noted

that the "block group method" was the outcome

of lessons learned earlier through trial and error,and was expected to be a more appropriate prac-

tice. This expectation was based on the objective

that each settler would work on the same blockuntil they were allocated individual lots within the

identical block they had worked. This methodappears to be more conducive to work since there

is a definite personal motivation. The incentivefor motivation lies in the fact that each of the

settlers is assured of a lot within the area he

originally worked, and he gets what he sows.

Some details of the "block group work system"

will be exemplified in the studied scheme in the

following section.

3. Early Land Development in Felda AyerHitam

Like other earlier schemes, land development inFAH has been carried out to a great extent along

with the process of group settlement in three

phases in different years. Table III-1 shows basic

statistics of some processes of land development

and rubber plantation in FAH. Felda had as-

signed rubber as a plantation crop for this scheme.

It is often said that rubber trees start to produce

latex six years after transplanting, and should be

replanted after 30 years in order to obtain eco-

nomic return.The initial land development for agricultural

use in FAH has been made over the long period of

196f1975 by which the developed area was

1,634.53 hectares or 4,038.92 acres includingroads and pathways, field canals, and swamps

@ayas). The agricultural land was largely divid-ed into four "physical phases"; i.e., P-l (421.28

ha), P-2 (409.95 ha), P-3 (373.68 ha), and P-4(29.62ha) of which the first three phases were

allocated respectively to P-l,P-z, and P-3 settlers;

whereas P-4 was under Felda's reserved atea.

The settlers were due to participate in the

"block work system" for the first two or three

years after joining the scheme in three phases: P-

I settlers (joined mostly in July 1962) for three

years, both P-2 (joined in April 1963) and P-3

fioined in August 1965) for two years respective-

ly. Thus, the "block work system" had been

under way for about five years between July 1962

and August 1967 in FAH scheme.

The initial physical work for land development

in FAH was as follows: ( 1) felling and clearingjungle for housing lots and agricultural fields in-

cluding dusun (orchard), (2) construction ofhouses and some major infrastructure, (3) estab-

lishment of nursery for rubber, (4) planting ofmain crop (rubber).

The work for P-l land had been mostly carried

out by adopting the contract method in which

individual business contractors had recruited the

laborers from neighboring kampungs. However,

P-l settlers had participated in this work both forP-2 and P-3 land; and P'2 settlers also for P-3

land, although some major work had depended

upon business contractors. Thus, the basic workof three physical phases had been mostly com-

Table III・ 1

Land D)evelopment and Rubber Plantation in Felda Ayer Hitam

of Kluang Distdct,Johor State(Area unit: in hectare)

Phases

TotalDeveloped

Areas(l)

Year ofDevelop-

ment(2)

Planted Date of Areas of Starting No.ofAreas Planting Produce Date of House‐

Producc holds

(3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Date of

Settle‐

ment(7)

(8)

421.28

409。 95

373.68

429.62

(1960′ 61)

(1962)

(1964′ 65)

(1974′ 75)

367.98 (12′ 1961) 366.20 (0511968) 121 (0711962)

378.58 (12′ 1962) 353.20 (1111969) 105 (04ノ 1963)

336.50 (12′ 1964) 336.50 (0411971) 110 (08′ 1965)

172.曇 (lη1977) 172.“ (03ノ1984) 一一

Total 1634.53 1255。50 1228.34 336

Source: The author's fieldwork.

Notes: l. The entire phase4 lands are Felda's reserved areas for its experimental purposcs. The planted area (172'44ha) has

been under Felda's management.

2. Ofphase-4lands,asizcJlearea(168.28ha)hasbeencultivatedbyagroupofsettlerswithoutFelda'sauthorization'

一- 96 -一


pleted before the settlers' arrival to FAH in differ-ent years. This was an important arrangement,since the settlers could concentrate their dailyactivities more on the allocated block for worksuch as weeding, manuring, spraying medicines,and maintaining terraces, roads and pathways,drainage and irrigation channels, although p- land P-2 settlers had respectively worked forothers' field phases for three and two years.

The author asks that readers to recall that therewere 13 blocks in three phases:5 blocks in p-1,4blocks each in P-2 and P-3. Although the blockboundaries had been made before the settlers'arrival, Felda had not completed the demarcationsurveys of individual fields in each phase beforethe corresponding settlers' arrival. In fact, thefield demarcation was completed afte r a lapse ofmore than one year from the settlers' arrival toFAH, and the subsequent allocation of lots forindividual settlers required another few months.

How, then, had the "block group work system"operated in Felda Ayer Hitam ? Figure III- Idepicts the organizing linkage of the work system

between Felda's staff and settlers. The settlers areorganized in one of three phases, one of 13 blocks,one of 2-3 sections in a block, and one of settlersof a section.

It should be noted that the number of house-holds in each of 13 blocks in three phases hassome variation from 14 households (the smallest)to 34 households (the largest) being on average of26 households (Table III-2).

Under the "block work system," Felda appoint-ed one exclusive staff (field assistant) for eachblock. He was the most immediate coordinatorfacing the settlers, though general supervision andcontrol was conducted by a scheme manager anda senior supervisor (responsible for one entirephase); whereas from the settlers' side, there wasa mandot0) (coordinator) for each block who hadbeen elected by the settlers. The mandor used toprovide various instructions on the day's work tothe section heads (ketua seksyons: each command-ing lo_l2o settlers in FAH) or directly to settlersof his block; and had to submit a written reportgathered from the section heads and/or observed

organization of "Block Group work System" in Early FeldaAyer Hitam scheme of Kruang District, Johor state

Senior Supervisor(Commanding One Phase)

Field Assistant(Commanding One Block)

Mandor (Coordinator)(In Charge of One Block)

Head of Section Head of Section

r0-20Settlers

Figure III-1

97

S∝ lo‐Economic Changesin FELDA,Malaysia(Komoguchi)

Table III‐ 2

Nulmbers of Block Based Hlouseholds in Three Phases of Felda

Ayer Hitttn,Kluang District,Johor State

Blocks

Number ofHouseholds

CorrespondingHouse Numbers

Phase‐ 1

Phase‐ 2

Phase‐ 3

Total

Block‐ 1

Block‐ 2

Block‐ 3

Block‐4

Bloё k‐ 5

Block‐ 6

Block‐7

Block‐ 8

Block‐9

Block‐ 10

Block‐ 11

Block‐ 12

Block‐ 13

All Blocks

‐２２１４２８２３３４‐０５２‐２４３４２６Ⅲ３３２５２‐３２３３６

1-21

22-32 and 43-45

46-73

74-96

33-42 and 97-120

121-141

142-165

166-199

200-225a

225b-252 and 327-331

253-270,324-326,and 333-336271-291

292-323

1-336


by himself on the achievement of the day's workevery work day evening. Closely associated withthe group of working settlers, the mandor and

section head played important roles in various

aspects of the "block/group work system."

The attendance and work checks were made

every working day from Sunday through Thurs-

day (a half day) with the official weekly holyday

on Friday, though the Johor state government

changed the system in 1993 from Monday

through Saturday (a half day) with the official

weekly holyday on Sunday. The settlers' working

time table was as follows:( I ) 6.0F9.00 am including briefing and fol-

lowing proceeding to work places (then l0minutes'rest);

(2) 9.lf 10.30 am (then 30 minutes' rest);(3) ll.OGlz.N am (then l0 minutes' rest);

and(4).

:];t:t.* Pffi, and the daY's work was

The whistle was often used in office and fields

for checking every stage of settlers' (laborers')

work which produced a "quasi-militaristic" at-

mosphere, according to some settlers. Indeed,

more than one-third of the settlers in FAH have

had previous experience in military, police, and

other related services.

The wages were accounted for on a daily basis,

although payment was made twice a month. The

amount of daily wages for male and female work-

ers showed some difference' €'g" $2'90 for male

and $2.50 for female, rates of wage which were

applied only for one person per settler's house-

hold. The daily wages for male and female work-

ers under 18 years old were $2.50 and $2.00

respectively. Some settlers' family members' espe-

cially settlers' wives and sons, were also employed

if the necessary work would be available on that

day in which the amount of wage was a littlelower than those of the fixed wage guaranteed to

one person per settler's household. Despite the

lower wage rate, there were many job seeking

laborers who used to stand-by for the day's workat Felda's office every morning of the workingdays.

In case of rainy days, there were three categor-

ies of the amount of daily wage: ( 1) if rain

continued for the whole working hours, the day's

work would be cancelled without pay; (2) if set-

tlers could work until around 10,00 am (then rain

started), the amount would be a half-day wage

equivalent; and (3) if settlers could work untilaround noon, the amount would be a full day

wage equivalent. These general rules had been

applied for all types of settlers (laborers).Because of cancellation of the work days due to

rainy days and other reasons, the settler's monthly

一-98 -―


working days under the "block work system"were around 20 days, and thus, each settler couldget around $58.00 ($2.90 X 20) per month fromthe work.

Felda had put out a warning that if settlersfailed to show up for daily work consecutively forthree days, they would be dicharged from thescheme. However, no such case occurred inFAH, on account of the warning. Even if somesettlers were not able to work for some days dueto sickness or some other reason, some othersettlers would work under the names of the initialsettlers (of course, the workers would enjoy theday's wage). This practice might be accounted as

one of settlers' collaborations. However, weshould take into account the fact that unemployedor underemployed laborers were prevalent inrural Malaysia from the early 1960s throughout1970s. The studied kampung (FAH) was noexception.

The settlers' monthly maintenances weremainly covered from two sources: ( 1) a loan of$69.60 per month at 6% annual interest providedthrough Felda and (2) about $58.00 per monthwhich was based on a day's wage ($2.90) andaverage working days (20 days) per month.Thus, monthly "income" from main sources was$127.60 per household. On the other hand, thesettler's living costs in the same period accountedfor about $12G-$150 per month. Although somesettlers could secure exra income other than thetwo main sources, the individual amounts weregenerally small.

Thus, facing hardship of their livelihood, mostof the settlers have had great patience with thelimited amount of "income" until the rubber treesstarted to produce latex.

Under the "block group work system" therehave been serious constraints and tensions be-tween Felda staff and settlers and among settlersthemselves. However, it should be highly appreci-ated that the settlers' various experiences andsound spirits obtained to a great extent by partici-pating in the "block group work system" in theearly stage of FAH scheme.

4. Changing Land-Use and lts Associations inFelda Ayer Hitam

The land development for the first three phaseswas carried out in earlier years, and as indicatedalready, young rubber trees had already beenplanted in each phase before corresponding groupsettlers' arrival to FAH. The developed areas ofthe three phases together accounted for 1 ,174.9ha

of which 1,083.1ha have been used for rubberplantation and the remaining for roads and path-ways, field canals, swamps @ayas), etc. Evensome steep slopes of hills and swamps scattered inthe basins have been used for cultivation of fruittrees (durian, coffee, cocoa, etc.), banana, andvegetables; and for cattle grazing. Thus, thereseems to be no idle land found in the three phases.

Land development in P-4 started long after allsettlers of three phases had arrived to FAH. Atthe earlier stage, Felda announced a plan that theland in P-4 would be equally allocated among 336settlers after the completion of development untilwhich it would have been pledged under Felda'sland reserved.

However, it was only in late 1977 when Feldamade rubber plantation with l7z.Uha of whichfarming has proceeded by Felda's direct manage-ment. Covering the southeastern section of thestudied kampung, the areal extent occupied only a

little more than half the total cultivable land of P-4.

There was another portion of land with 162.62ha within P-4 extending narrowly from north tosouth at the eastern section of the kampung whichhas been developed and cultivated by some 86settlers without Felda's authorization (Fig. II-2).This land has been used mostly for oil palm, andto a lesser extent for mixed gardens of fruit trees(durian, coffee, cocoa, etc.), banana, vegetables,etc., and ponds for fish culture.

The above privately developed area for cultiva-tion in P-4 has been made through piecemealprocess over 30 years started by a few P- l settlersas early as in 1962, and the area under cultivationseemed to be near the maximum extent by 1993

since there was no idle land left in P-4.Thus, there is still unsolved fundamental work

left for Felda to allocate the P-4 land equallyamong all settlers of FAH. However, a seriousproblem arose when a group of some 86 settlersinvolved in the unauth orized cultivation havemade repeated petitions for individual land titlesto the Johor state government since 1992 forwhich there have been several letters exchangedbetween the state government and settlers. Thisissue is certainly a serious headache on the part ofFelda, since it is against one of Felda's importantpolicies.

As already explained, FAH started with rubbercultivation. Over 30 years has passed since thefirst inception of the crop, and thus it was theperiod that old rubber trees should be replaced bynew crops. In fact, Felda-initiated replanting

99


program was almost completed both in P-l and inP-2 by December 1993, and was just started in P-3 in August 1994.

Tables III-3 shows some basic statistics onchange of land-use between the initial crop(planted in 196l-77) and replanted crops (pla-nted in 1991-93) in FAH. Figure lll-2 depictsthe spatial pattern of land-use in a transitionalperiod from old to new crops in FAH. Thereplanted area carried out between October 1992

and December 1993 was 727.03 ha or 57.9% oftotal cultivated area (1,255.50ha) for the initialcrop (rubber) in FAH. There are some settlerswho planted oil palm in P-l and P-2land withoutreplacing old rubber trees (Table III-4). Thiscase can be regarded as inter-cropping: the oldrubber still produces some latex, while new oilpalm has been growing.

Despite Felda's suggestion that rubber should

be replanted, the settlers have planted oil palm toa sizeable extent wherever soil and physiographicconditions are suitable. The physical conditionsallowed rubber cropping in almost all Ps.-L, -2, -3,and -4 land in FAH as it was cultivated as theinitial crop. Of this, however, there is some lowerland which is more suitable for oil palm thanrubber, although some irrigation and drainage areoccasionally necessary. As indicated earlier, some

good harvest of oil palm has been already ex-

emplified for the last 15-20 years in the lower partof the eastern section in P-4 of the kampungwhere some settlers privately organized construc-tion of irrigation and drainage net-works withoutFelda's authori zation.

Thus, a marked change in the replanted area

was a partial adoption of oil palm in the erstwhileexclusively rubber area in FAH. More specifical-ly, replanted area for rubber and oil palm occup-

Table III-3Change of Agricultural Land-uses as Seen in a Replanting Process

in Felda Ayer Hitam of Kluang District' Johor State(as of September 1993)

(Area unit: in hectare)

1961-1965 1991-1993

TotalAreas

(l)

Rubber

(2)

House-holds(3)

Replanted AreasTotal

Rubber Oil Palm (4)十 (5)

(4) (5) (6)

House‐ Housc― House―

holds holds holdsunder(4)under(5) (7)+(8)

(7) (8) (9)

1

2

3

4

421

410

374

430

121

105

110

88

76

1

31

22

3

119

98

4

367.98

378。 58

336.50

172.44

263.13

262.10

3.21

93.35 356.48

95。99 358。 09

9.30 12.50

Total 1,635 1,225.50 336 528.44 198.63 727.07 165 56

Source: The author's fieldwork.Note: The rubber area (172.4ha) in Phase-4 was planted in 1977.

Table III‐ 4

Unchanged Areas of Orlglnal Cropplng ln Felda Ayer

Hitanl of Kluang】 District,Johor State

(aS Of September 1993)(Area unit: in hectare)

Crops Planted Areas Areas of Produce No. of Households

1

2

3

4

RubberRubberRubberRubber

14。 07

28.40

324。 00

172.44

12.29

3.02

323.80

172.44

２

７

‐０６

一

538.91


-1∞ 二

5H.51


ied respectively 528.44ha (72.7% of total replant-ed area) and 198.63 ha (27.3%). By the timeFelda's replanting program will be completed inanother year for P-3, and two or three years for P-4, we can expect more extensive area for oil palmin FAH. The change of crop replanting from

rubber to oil palm has increasingly occurred in thesouthern states of the Peninsular, especially inJohor state.

Oil palm trees usually start to produce fruitsthree years after transplanting in the fields inwhich the oil levels gradually increase until ten

陶RUBBER(PRODUCING) 困

□囲

圏目OIL PALM(PRODUCING)REPLANTED RUBBER

(NOT PRODUCING)

RESIDENTIAL AREAS &THEIR ASSOCIAT10NS

□OIL PALH(NOT PRODUCING)E□ ORCHARD

匡藝FISH BREEDING POND

EE三玉【] ROADS

囲□ｏ

OTHERS

SWAMPY

500

(COFFEE,COCOA,ETC。 )

AREA

1000METERS

Figure lll-2 Land-use in a Transitional Period in Felda Ayer Hitam (199243)

一-101-―


years old, and then start gradually to reduce theamount in accordance with the age of the trees,and finally should be replaced after 2V25 years inorder to obtain economic return.

The matured oil palm can be usually harvestedfor fruit twice a month, and the production peracre is approximately one ton per month. Theaverage price per ton at fields is MR($)150.00 onaverage with a wide range from $90.00 to $200.00during 1992-93.

The comparative analysis of cost-benefit be-

tween rubber and oil palm might be necessary

here. However, since FAH scheme adoptedrubber plantation program, the development forland and settlement has been largely integratedinto a rubber-oriented syst€ffi, and thus there wereno well-balanced data available between twocrops.

At the replanting of either rubber or oil palm,

there were some important arrangements provid-ed through Felda and its associated governmentagency. Table III-5 depicts some basic provisionincurred at the replanting of rubber and oil palmin FAH.

In case of rubber, the tapping could be carriedout every day whenever climatic conditions al-lowed, for which the rubber collection center (P.M.G.) in FAH has been open every work day oftapping in order to weigh the collected latex fromfields. The daily produce from rubber has been

recorded in the Felda scheme office and usuallypaid twice a month after collective sales to themarket. Thus, the amount of payment was largelydetermined by fluctuation of the market price.Felda's accounting system is not only to recordthe daily produce of rubber, but also to recordseveral items including subtracting regular loan,agricultural inputs (fertilizer, medicines, chemi-cals, etc.), replanting costs, and other costs forsocial welfare programs. Thus, the settlers have

to deposit some amount for future agriculturaldevelopment or to have subtracted some amountof loan from the percentage of the day's produceof rubber.

The basic factor for changing land-use lies inthe recent prevalent shortage of labor force inMalaysia. Confined to FAH situation, sincerecent replanting has been almost completed in P-1 and P-2, one might suppose that there was alarge labor force available. There were some

settlers in P- 1 and P-2 who have worked forothers as wage laborers. If there were such labor-ers, they were mostly sons and daughters of thefirst generation whose socio-economic status weregenerally far below the average. It should be

noted that the initial settlers have been workingfor their own land even though they were quiteaged, s&y, above 50 years old, and that they wereseldom engaging in wage laborer.

Table III-5Replanting and its Associated Costs in Felda Ayer Hitam

of Kluang District, Johor State (1991-93)

( I ) Rubber (2) Oil Palm

RISDA's replanting "subsidytt(a)'(b)

(MR) $ 2,2OO per acre

$17,600 for 8 acres(")

Felda's loan for living maintenance

$200 per month for 5 years($2OO x 60 months: $ 12,000)

$ 2,000 per acre

S16,000 for 8 acres

$ 1,500 per acre

512,000 for 8 acres

$240 per month for 3 years($240 X 36 months: $8,640)

$ 2,000 per acre

$16,000 for 8 acres

3. Felda's replanting charge (cutting old trees, construction of terracing and leveling, planting new

trees, etc,)

Source: The author's fieldwork.Not€s: (a) RISDA refers to Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority.

(b) The term, "subsidy," is often used in official dcuments. The mount of credit is an outcome of what settlere have

accunlated over years through the regular percentage dcposits of the work day's producce of rubber. The RISDAis only concemed with the mmagenent and scrvices of the settlers' deposits. Thus, th€ term, "subsidy," used here

should be differentiated from the regular usage.

(c) Each settler owns 8 acres.

- 102-


Iv. changing Populrrtion and Its Associa- problems over a period of years since the first

tions in Ferda Ayer Hitam :1t::11'j1_t19::3::1pl11t:l*3:Y"T*are luncamentaly Dasec on tnose oDtatnec lromthe author's family census survey conducted

1. The Population Data of Felda Ayer Hitam during 1991-93 with the help of scattered officialdocuments available at FAH scheme office.

At this stage we will touch on some changing As already indicated, most settlers joined theaspects of settlers' population and its relevant scheme in three phases in diferent years: (l) July

Table IV‐ 1

Population]Dist】dbution by Age{Group and Sex inFelda Ayer Hitam of muang Dist五ct

Johor State(September 1966)

Age Group Male% Fernale oA Total%

0-4 267 13.37 12.07 508 25。44

5-9 198 9.91 173 8.66 371 18.58

10-14 133 6.“ 130 6.51 263 13.17

15-19 74 3.71 64 3.20 138 6。 91

20-24 53 2.“ 104 5.21 157 7.86

25-20 63 3.15 84 4.21 147 7.36

30-34 3.71 72 3.61 146 7.31

35-39 54 2.70 2.60 106 5.31

40-49 104 5。 21 33 1.65 137 6.86

50-59 0。 90 0.10 20 1.00

60-69 0。 20 0。 ∞ 0。 20

70&above 0。 ∞ 0.∞ 0。 ∞

Grand To餞 | 1,042 52.18 955 47.82 11997 100.00

Population Distribution by Age Group and Sex in Felda Ayer Hitamof Kluang District, Johor State (September 1966)

HeJe II

II

1,042 persons | 4

50-59

20-24

Figure IV‐ 1

-103-


1962, (2) April 1963, and (3) August 1965. Inorder to obtain the earliest population census ofFAH as a whole, the data are arranged into an

integrated form as of September 1966 (Fig. IV- Iand Table IV- I ). None of the "initial" (first)settlers had passed away by September 1966. Al-though some replacement of the initial settlersoccurred in the 4 years between July 1962 andSeptember 1966, all cases were carefully examinedand adjusted as necessary. Thus, the 1966 popu-

lation data are claimed to be quite accurate. Thiscan be comparable with the same kind of popula-

tion census arranged as of September 1992.

The 1992 population data are organized in twocategories: ( 1) all resident settlers and theirfamily members lived in FAH in 1992 and (2) all

out-migrants of FAH people during 1962-92which consisted of the initial settlers' childrenincluding the children accompanying them andnew-born children of the first (initial) and second

generation settlers in FAH (Figs. lV-2, -3, and -4;

Tables lV-z and -3).The number of migrants in the Znd category

was mostly second generation settlers themselves,

but included a few children of the second genera-

tion settlers and of the initial settlers themselves as

exceptional cases. By definition, those who wereborn in the parents' migrated places were ex-

cluded from the 2nd category.The various aspects of population are closely

related to the individual settlers' social and eco-

nomic backgrounds at the times of their initial

Distribution of "Stay-in" and "Stay-out (Migrant)"

Populations bY Age GrouP and Sex in

Felda Ayer Hitam of Kluang DistrictJohor State (SePtember 1992)

37 70+

98 60-69

:94 3

107 50-59 19

19 40-49 140

'60 1161

16 35-39 143

1201

55 30-34 173

122

89 25-29 173７

．

:16■

131 20-24 86

1871

91 15-19 ７

９

□

□

Male

Female

69 10-14

32 5- I::130

33 o-443,

76543210%01234567

Figure lV-2

- 104-

(September 1992)

Age Group Male % Fernale '/o Total %

04 33 2.14 43 2.79 76 4.93

5 10 32 2.€ 30 1.95 62 4.s2

∞ 4.47 50 3.24 7.72

5.90 5.45 175 11.35

20 - 24 8.50 139 9.01 270 17.5i

25 - 29 89 5.77 4.60 160 10。38

30 e5 55 3.57 1.r+3 77 4.99

36 39 1.04 1.30 36 2.38

40 -49 1.28 00 3.89 79 5.12

50 59 107 6.94 9.14 248 16.08

60@ 98 6.36 94 6.10 192 12.45

70+ 37 2.40 0.71 48

Total 777 50.39 765 49。 61 1,542 100,00


Table lV-2Distributions of "Stay-in" Populations byAge Group and Sex in Felda Ayer Hitam

of I(fuang District, Johor State

Population Distribution by Age Group and Sex inFelda Ayer Hitam of Kluang District

Johor State (September 1992)

91 115-19

Figure IV-3

-105-


Table IV-3Distribution of "Stay-out (Migrant)" Populations by

Age Group and Sex in Felda Ayer Hitamof l(luang District, Johor State

During 1962-1992

Distribution of Migrant Population by Age Group and Sex fromSettlers' Households in Felda Ayer Hitam of Kluang District

Johor State During 1962-1 992

Figure IV-4

Age Group Malo % Fernale o/o Total %

04 0.m o.m 0.00

5 to o.00 0.00 0.00

11 - 14 0.00 0.2 | o.21

0.49 0.63

20 - 24 86 5.97 87 6.04 179 12.01

25 - 29 179 12,01 11.18 334 23.19

30 35 179 12.01 179 12.48 352 24.44

38 39 143 9.93 132 9.17 275 19。 10

40 -- 49 r40 9.72 8.06 256 17.78

50 59 1.32 0.56 27 1.88

80@ I o.07 o.2l 0.28

70+ 0.00 o.m 0.00

Total 742 51.53 698 48.47 I ,440 100,00

- 106-


settlement. Felda's selection of the settlers wascarried out based on the judgement of severalimportant aspects (factors), i.e., ?EE, maritalstatus, job experience, and health condition, toeach of which a different maximum point wasrespectively given. With regard to age and mari-tal status, for example, Felda prefered to selectyounger married applicants with children, andgave them higher score, if other conditions wereas same as other applicants. The age factor wasan important one, since the settlers had to payback an indebted loan within 15 years after start-ing produce of rubber latex for which Felda hasrepeatedly emphasized "the youger the better"policy in the selection of settlers.

We secured data on the age of husbands andwives at the initial settlement by accounting indi-vidual birth dates and month of the year theyjoined FAH scheme. We also secured data onindividual settlers' number of children based onthree phases as of September 1992.

Table IV-4 shows a simplified form of the aboveaspects of population in FAH. This table revealssome important demographic features of the ini-tial settlers in three phases in different years: ( 1)average age difference of husbands and wives inthree phases, (2) average age difference betweenhusbands and wives in each of three phases, and(3) the number of children and average childrenper settler in three phases. With regard to (3), weare not sure that the number of children persettler decreased from P-1, P-2, and P-4 in order.Some initial settlers, especially those inp-2 and p-

3, have still potential fertility. And thus it isassumed that the average children in P-2 and P-3would increase to some extent in some moreyears.

However, the consequences relating to the ageof husbands and wives of initial settlers and thenumber of their children (second generation set-tlers) are more importantly considered in thisstudy in relation to their productive activities, andmigration and marriage behavior which we willdiscuss shortly.

2, Changing Population in Felda Ayer Hitam

The total population of FAH in 1966 accountedfor 1,997 persons (male: 1,042; female: 955) in336 settlers (households). In the four years be-tween July 1962 and September 1966, there were afew settlers who once joined FAH scheme, butwithdrew due to the hardship of livelihood undernew socio-economic environs. When such casesoccurred, Felda immediately selected the samenumber of settlers among the many applicantswho had been available at that time.

More specifically, although the total number ofinitial settlers in FAH has been accounted at 336,the present total includes 4 settlers who are sonsof the initial settlers. They were selected by ballotamong existing settlers' family members in 1980.Being accounted as "initial settlers," the 4 settlershave been treated the same as other regular set-tlers including the allocation of housing and farm-ing lots. One exception was that they could not

Table IV‐4Age of Husbands and Wives at the lnitial Settlement and

the Number of Children in Felda Ayer I・ Iitam

Kluang】District,JOhor State

Husbands Wives(Average) (Average)

No.of Children Average Children

M F M&F M F M&F

I2

3

Total ofAverage

37.13

35.54

32.34

35.16

29。 32

28.29

26.55

28.17

476

371

310

1,157

3.7

2.8

3.1

3.2

7.7

6。 4

6.0

6.71,048 2,205

Source: The author's fieldwork.Notes: (l) All data on age of husbands and wives at the initial s€ttlement were obtained by accounting individual birth dates

and month of the year ofjoining the FAH scheme in three phases in diferent years. of 336 husbands and wives, onecouple (husband and wife) was omitted from the data due to lack of accurate evidence.

(2) Phasesl' -2, and -3 consisted of 121, 105, and 110 households respectively, of which 4, 3, and 3 households' dataregarding their children were respectively omitted due to lack of accurate infomation.

(3) The number of children was as of september 1992. The last child from the first settler's couple in this data, forexample, was in 1984.

一-107-―


get a cottage, since the initial settlers and theirsons have been living together in any case. These

households owned two units of land titles. Thus,

in FAH, there are 336 "initial settlers" in 332

households.In 1992 the population of 332 households in

FAH accounted for 1,542 persons (male: 777;

female: 765). The total population in FAH de-

creased by 455 persons (male: 265; female: 190)

during the26 years between 1966 and 1992. Thisis mainly due to consequences of recent migrationfrom FAH to various other places.

Comparing population by age group between

those of FAH in 1992 and out-migration during

1962-92, there is a marked contrast between them:

in the three age groups (1) f19, (2) 2V49, and

(3) 50 and above, the former consisted of 28. Iy6,40.326, and 31.6% respectively of the total popu-

lation in FAH, whereas the latter consisted of1.3%, 96.5%, and 2.2% respectively of the totalmigrant population.

The first (f 19) age group of the migrant pop-

ulation was distorted to a great extent, since, by

definition, newly born children after the parents'

migration were not included. When we compared

the population under the second (2V49) age

group, the former (resident population in FAH)and latter (migrant population) accounted for622 and 1,390 respectively. Thus, it is apparent

that the most active and productive age group

originated in FAH has migrated to a great extent

to other places durin g 1962-92.

3. Marriage and Migration in Felda Ayer Hitam

We will examine marriage in relation to some

migration problems which occurred mostly

among the second generation settlers in FAH

(Table IV-5). The total number of marriedpeople during 1962-92 accounted for 1,42 per-

sons (male: 680; female: 762) of which 176 (88

cases x2) were involved in intra-marriage inFAH. Of the intra-marriage cases, only 30 cou-ples (30x 2:60 persons) have continued to stay

in FAH, and the remaining 58 couples (58 x2:116 persons) stayed out of FAH.

A great majority of marriages occurred be-

tween FAH people and outsiders, i.e., 1,266 cases

(persons) (male: 600; female: 666) or 87.8% oftotal married people. Again, of these, only 163

(male: 78; female: 85) have been staying in FAH,and remaining 1,103 (male: 522; female: 581)

stayed out of FAH.The fact that 78 married men have been staying

in FAH means that they brought the same

number of wives from outside. And the 85 mar-ried women staying in FAH have brought hus-

bands from outside. The former could be com-

monly observed in any Muslim dominated com-

munity of Malaysia. However, the latter seemed

to be a unique phenomenon when we take intoaccount the fact that the number of "in-coming"husbands was more than that of "in-coming"wives both from outside but staying in FAH.

Generally speaking, these "in-coming" hus-

bands have had nothing to do with the labor forcefor rubber cultivation and other agricultural ac-

tivities in FAH, but were mostly engaged in non-

agricultural activities in and around FAH and its

nearby towns, especially Kluang and Ayer Hitam,

to each of which the travel distance from FAHgate is l4.8km and lOkm respectively. Thus,

FAH is regarded for them as a "bed-town/-

kampung." This is thought to be one aspect ofsocio-cultural changes associated with the region-

al economic develoPment.

Table IV'sMarriage: Intra-village and Other Cases in Felda Ayer Hitam

Kluang District, Johor State 0962-1992)

Intra-village Marriage Marriage with OutsidersTotal

"Staying-in" "staying-out" Subtotal "staying-in" "staying-out" Subtotal

Ｆ

２８。

‐５８

‐４３

Ｆ

３‐

３。

２４

Ｆ

４２

８

８

Ｍ

４２

８

８

Ｍ

‐６

７

７

F16

7

7

M&F58

15

15

M37

20

21

M266

159

97

F&M M&F614 730

367 397

285 315

Total


一-108-一

522 1,266 1,442


4. Changing Population and Its Implications

There has been a prominent trend that greatnumbers migrate from rural villages to moresocio-economically resourceful areas (if notmerely urban areas) and occupational changefrom the traditional agricultural sector to varioustypes of non-agricultural sectors over the country.This is fundamentally associated with the "wave"of recent economic development of this country.However, there are various human (cultural) andphysical conditions in given areas in differentscales-kampung, local, regional, or even nation-al. Thus, the consequences of the recent econom-ic development over the given areas reveals indi-vidual characteristic features.

we have already seen a series of statistics whichshow considerable out-migration from FAH oc-curring mostly among the second generation set-tlers seeking better economic opportunities andfor marriage, and that inversely there was anappreciable number of in-migrants to FAH de-scribed as "in-coming" husbands.

At this stage, we still need some basic data onthe working population in FAH and that of out-migrants in different occupational sectors.

The total resident working population in FAHin 1992 accounted for 889 persons (male: 529;female: 361); of which only 438 (male: 265;female: 173) or 49.3% of the total engaged inagricultural sector, whereas 425 (male: 242;female: 183) were in the non-agricultural sector.Besides, there were 26 persons (male: 2l; female:5) whose productive activities overlapped bothagriculture and non-agricultural sectors.

On the other hand, there were 1,006 persons(male: 673; female: 333) of the total migrantworking population of FAH origins; of which 740

(male: 538; fmale: 202) or 73.9% of the totalengaged in the non-agricultural sector, whereas263 (male: 132; female: l3l ) were in the agricul-tural sector (mostly Felda's settlers and theirwives in other scheme areas). Again, there were 3

persons (only male workers) who engaged both inagriculture and non-agricultural sectors.

Most husbands and wives of the initial genera-tion have engaged almost entirely in agriculturalactivities for a long period of years during whichthey have learned farm management and variouswork techniques through their experience, andabove all have had an excellent spirit of hardwork, "sweat more, then get more." And thesettlers' attitudes toward individual farming ingeneral have been basically continuing untiltoday, although the degree of their involvement infarming in FAH as a whole has been ac-celeratingly diminishing with the advance of theyears.

This is apparently due to the settlers' life cyclerelated to age and economic conditions of the firstsettlersr ( 1) of 327 examined households, 69 ofthe households' heads and 14 of their wives in 73households were already deceased by September1992 (Table IV-6); and (2) some settlers havestarted to engage in various types of non-agricultural sectors as shop owners (grocerystore, tea shop, fish store, barber shop, etc.) andworkers, bus and lorry owners and drivers, g&S

dealers, contractors for miscellaneous works, etc.Thus, the main agricultural labor force and

farm management have been shifting "to someextent" from the initial settlers to the second, andeven sometimes to the third generation settlers.This is basically the outcome of individualsettlers', their family members', and households'life cycles. However, it should be noted that themajority of active farmers in FAH have been aged

Table IV-6Types of couples of the First settlers in Felda Ayer Hitam

Kluang Dishict, Johor State (September 1992)

Types No. of Husbands No. of Wives No. of Households

l. Widowers2. Widows3. Both Dead4. Both Alive

4

(-5e)(-10)

254

(-4;t"r59

(-10)254

459

t0254

Total327(b)

Source: The author's fieldwork.Notes: (a) ( -4) indicates here that 4 wives were already dead.

(b) out of initial 336 households, 327 households stayed in FAH, and the rest (9 households) stayed out of FAH.

- 109-


50 years and above (Figs. lV-2 and -3; Tables IV-2 and -3).

It is a fact that some households do not haveworking people for farming, and that other house-

holds have working people, but they engage inonly managerial part of farming. In any case,

these households can not continue farming in thesame way that they have done over a long periodof years.

Recently, some of these households have sta-

rted to adopt two types of contract systems inFAH: (1) labor contract system in which a land-owner pays the laborer a fixed rate of the totalproduce carried out by the laborer, and (2) quasi

land tenure system, called "pajak,"t) in which a

tenant pays a fixed monthly rent in cash formatured rubber trees.

In the first type, a contract is made directlybetween one land owner and one laborer, and the

landowner usually supervises laborer's daily work.There are two types of rubber produce, driedrubber and scrap. As was a regular procedure,

the laborer's total production in the day was

weighed, the two types separately in P.M.G. byattendance of a Felda's staff. The rates of driedand scrap rubber for the laborer in July 1994 were

RM($)2.O0 per kg and $1.00 per kg respectively.

The total payment to the laborer is on a monthlybasis, because the landowner himself receives the

total amount for worked month in some days ofthe next month. However, in practice, Felda itselfpays some amount to the landowner in the same

month, and accordingly the landowner too pays

some amount to the laborer.The term of contract in FAH is usually at least

one month which is related to the payment proce-

dure stated above. There were 14 contracts ofrubber tapping and other works for an 8-acre lotin July 1994. The laborer's charge ranged widelyfrom MR($)330.00 to MR590 for the month,averaging MR467.42 and owner's income (afterdeducting only the labor charge) ranged fromMR420.00 to MR760.00 for the month, averaging

MR597.57.In the second type @aiak), the amount of

monthly rent and the term of contract are impor-tant issues both for landowner and tenant. The

amount of monthly rent for an 8-acre lot depends

upon various conditions such as field conditions(location, number of matured trees in the area,

distance to P.M.G.) and market price. In 1993

the monthly rent ranged from MR($)200.00 to

MR250.00 for an 8-acre lot. Examining 10 con-

tracts in July 1994 in FAH, the rent ranged from

MR200.00 to MR300.00 for the month averagingMR247.00 and the tenant's income (after deduct-ing the rent) ranged from MR700.00 to MR1,200.00 for the rnonth, averaging MR923.00.The term of contract was at least three months,but usually more than six months. This is because

landowners involved in this tenureship are mostlyof second generation and are less interested infarming, being themselves engaged in non-agricultural activities either staying in or outsideFAH. In fact, of 10 landowners involved in thetenureship, none of working population have

stayed in FAH. The "tenants" in this type are likebrokers or agents for recruiting laborer, and theyseldom work by themselves for the landowners.Thus, the real workers are hired laborers recruitedby the "formal" tenants. The tenants' highero'income" as shown above included the hiredlaborers' costs. It should be noted that all hiredlaborers were those from Indonesia with or with-out authorized work permit" Some foreign labor-ers were also involved in the first type of contactsystem (8 Indonesians of 14 laborers).

Since allocated plots for settlers in P- 1 and P-2

had just been replanted, the fields involved in the

contract systems were those in P-3. Of lll set-

tlers in P-3, 24 settlers (landowners) were in-volved in such contract systems which accountedfor 3376 of the total settlers. Including also P- Iand P-2 settlers, the number of settlers' involve-ment in contract systems in FAH as a whole

would increase to a great extent in future.We might add that in Felda's contract system,

the operation is carried out in two stages: ( 1)

Felda itself takes care of the settlers' farmingfrom replanting until production of rubber latex

or oil palm fruits, and Felda would ask the settlers

to pay off all costs and service charge, and ad-

vanced payment of MR(S)200.00 per month at

6% annual interest after producing latex or oilpalm fruits for in a long period of years (TableIII-5); and (2) after the first stage, Felda contin-ues to take care of settlers' farming in whichFelda engages only in the managerial part of the

settlers' farming by acting like "tenants" in paiak

system, and charges all costs to the settlers (ittpractice, Felda pays the remaining amount to thesettlers after deducting all costs).

Most settlers have been involved in the firststage of contract in FAH, whereas a few settlers

would have been involved in the second stage ofcontract judging from pre-replanting situation.

The lack of labor force has been a recent crucialproblem prevailing not only in rural but also in

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urban areas across the country. The situation

would be more serious in labor¨ oriented agricul―

ture such as plantation estates,Felda's schemes,

and ibr big landlords who have sizeable extent of

plantation crops (rubber, 01l palin, pineapple

etCO)・

V. Concluding Remarks

More than 30 years have passed since the flrst

group of settlers joined Felda Ayer Hitamschemeo And by September 1994 all settlers wcre

granted individual land titles by the Johor state

government after the settlers successfully paid or

the indebted loans through〕 Felda. In the process

ofdevelopment 6fland and settlemOnt,the settlers

have had to face various socio― econorFliC p=oblems

over a long periё d ofycars◆ The settlers,however,

have had various experiencc and knowledgc of

socio‐econonlies through productive activities.

There have been various ways of adaptation to

and adoption of changing socio― econonlic condi―

tions in difbrent scales: local, regional, and na―

tionalo Associated with the recent econornic de―

velopment of Malaysia, more than half of the

FAH originated population has lligrated to other

places across the country in order to seek more

comfortable econonlic gains during 1962-93. Re¨

lated to this lnigration and individual households'

life cycle in]FAH,the rnain labor force and farm

management has been shifting to some extent

from the settlers of the initial generation to those

of second and even third generationo However,

aged farrners(50 years old and above)ocCupied

the rFlttOrity Ofthe total working population in the

agricultural sector in FAH. This indicates that

many houscholds need casual laborers even if

some houscholds have farmers within them. On

the other hand,Inany households do not have any

active farmer within them.

It should be noted that rubber cultivation of an

8-acre lot in general is eco五 omically gainful farm‐

ing if it is cultivated by the settlers themselves.

Many settlers have recently Changed crops replant―

ing from rubber trees to oil palin, because the

latter requires less labor than the forimer.

The adoption of contract systelns is another

solution in some houscholds which do not have

active labor force. As indicated, there are two

types of cOntract systeIIIs in which transactiOns

have been carried out among settlers in FAH.

Besides, lFelda has also become involved in con‐

tract farnling for such houscholds in iFAH.

In the matured stage in FAH scheme,Felda's

practical role has been shifting from the develop-

ment of land and settlement to settlers' farmmanagement in general. Thus, Felda itself seems

to be growing toward a giant contractor in nature.Both Felda's and FAH peoples' achievement

should be highly appreciated. Above all, theemphasis in appraisal should be placed more uponsocial and multiplier effects.

Then, we must ask an important question,"where will Felda go?" The author will try todeal with this question in a separate paper.

Acknowledgements

The research was made possible by the fund forScientific Research under the auspices of the Jap-

anese Ministry of Education in 1992-93 (No.03041033: Project Chief. Dr. K. Miyazaki ofILCAA of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)and in 1993-95 (No. 05041015. Project Chief.Prof. Y. Komoguchi of Komazawa University,Tokyo) for which I am grateful.

In Malaysia, I am obliged to the EconomicPlanning Unit in the Prime Minister's Depart-ment; various Departments of the Johor StateGovernment, Kluang District, Majlis DaerahKluang; FELDA's headquarters, Regional offices,and Felda Ayer Hitam (FAH) office. I would liketo express my sincere thanks to them all. Specialwords should be addressed to the people in thestudied FAH for their support and collaborationto this study, and my two assistants, Mr. Samus-udin b. Mansor for his interpreting work and MissMani for her computer work.

My thanks also go to my friends, Mr. & Mrs.LEE Kok Chee of Cathay restaurant (Kluangtown) not only for serving such excellent food,but also for providing a liaison office in the shopfor this study. The special publication grant forthe year of 1994195 was provided by KomazawaUniversity.

Notes

l. With regard to Felda's land and settlementschemes, various studies have already foc-used upon various aspects, individual scopeand standpoints. The most comprehensiveworks can be seen in two books, one,FELDA: 21 Years of Land Development byBahrin and Perera (1977), and the other,FELDA: 3 Decades of Evolution by Bharinand Lee (1988). Besides, the changing polic-ies and role since its creation in 1956 have

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been well documented by the works of Wik-kramatilike (1972), MacAndrews (1977),and Bahrin (1988). Including these, thereare many important works-original (basedon intensive fieldwork), reviewed, theory ori-ented, and/or combination at local (individu-al scheme basis), regional, national, and eveninternational scale. Some of these works areas follows: Hashim (1980), Bharin and Muh-amed (1992), Horii (1984), Zakarra et al( 1985), Yusoff ( 1985), Yonus ( 1988),Oberai (1986), Sutton (1987; 1989), Hulme(1987; 1988), Kottak (1985), and Scudder( 1e84; 1e85).

2. Kampung may be referred to as a basic spa-tial unit of the rural community with a sizea-ble area where the residents' primary livingand cultural/socio-economic activities aremutually shared among themselves to a

varied extent. It is usually observed in a

kampung that there are several residentialclusters; each of which consists of 10-15households, although there are a few house-holds scattered in isolation on its outskirts.

3. Mukim (sub-district) is usually regarded as

the lowest administrative unit. The chief of amukim, called penghulu, is presently appoint-ed by the state government.

4. The mukims in Kluang district are ( 1)

Kahang, (2) Paloh, (3) Niyor, (4) BandarKluang, (5) Kluang, (6) Rengam, (7)Machap, (8) Ulu Benut, and (9) Layang-Layang. See also figure ll-2.

5. The Felda's regional offices in Johor statewere (1) Felda Johor Utara (North)/Melakalocated in Segamat, (2) Felda Johor Tenga(Central) located in Kluang, and (3) FeldaJohor Selatan (South) located in JohorBahru; each of which respectively com-manded 24, 30, and 25 scheme areas.

6. As a remuneration for his work, the mandorused to get an allowance of $ 1.00 per work-ing day.

7 . Pajak rs a type of land tenureship in which a

tenant pays to the landowner a fixed share ofharvests of standing crops/fruit trees in kindor cash (usually paid before the harvests).

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f;:'lffffffirepo.komazawa-u.ac.jp/opac/repository/all/16609/kci008...Socio-Economic Changes in FELDA: A Case Study of Felda Ayer Hitam, Johor State, Malaysia Yoshimi KOMOGUCHI* I