Ahmad Zahid Confirms New Role Supervising Felda, FGV

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says he has been officially entrusted as the minister overseeing the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and Felda Global Ventures (FGV).

Ahmad Zahid, who is also UMNO president and Minister of Rural and Regional Development, said he received a letter from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim informing him of the matter yesterday.

“Yesterday, I received a letter from the Prime Minister, officially stating my new responsibility as the minister overseeing Felda and FGV,” he said when delivering his winding-up speech at the 2025 UMNO General Assembly here today.

Ahmad Zahid said he would shoulder the responsibility with the assistance of a deputy minister to manage matters related to Felda and settlers, which he described as a heavy task.

In a press conference afterwards, he said Felda remained under the Prime Minister’s Department.

“NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency) is also under the Prime Minister’s Department, as is the TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) Council that I chair. That is the current position.

“There is no longer any ‘dotted line’. Previously, the role (overseeing Felda) was only in the form of informal support to the Prime Minister, but it has now been finalised and formalised,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid, in his speech, said that UMNO had never pressured or made excessive demands on the Prime Minister.

“I want to state that our support for the current government remains steadfast… we have never pressured or asked the Prime Minister to bow… He said that we cannot ask for everything and cannot be given everything because there are 17 parties in the government now.

“Therefore, power-sharing and the distribution of positions, although not equal, also take into account the requests of the parties that have come together in the Unity Government,” he said.

-- BERNAMA