Salwani’s our ‘integrity idol’

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
January 13, 2016

I WAS impressed reading how Nepal showcased a talent show-styled programme called “Integrity Idol”, that recognises and awards honest civil servants. The show, in its second year, saw over 50,000 people cast their votes via text messages and social media in a bid to encourage honesty in the Himalayan nation, where many citizens are forced to pay bribes for essential services.

Amid the almost non-stop discussions of corruption, misappropriation, blatant dishonesty and greed, I thought this is something Malaysia needs. Suddenly, the name Salwani Tajuddin came to mind.

This gallant resident of Kampung Felda Bukit Goh near Kuantan could easily be our “Integrity Idol” because not only does she stand tall among fellow settlers, but also demonstrates the courage to fend off unscrupulous individuals who are determined to corrupt her with get-rich-quick schemes.

Salwani stood firm on her principles and values when she was offered RM500,000 to mine her 4ha plot early last year.

Even when this sum was doubled a few days later with the possibility of catapulting her to the status of an “instant millionaire”, Salwani stood by her decision.

This despite her being harassed and called “stupid” for remaining steadfast. On the contrary, she made a profound observation that many of the villagers who fell for the “scam” lived rather empty lives once their lands were leased.

“They are settlers who are now forced to be security guards as their money is already spent and their oil palm land completely cleared to obtain bauxite,” Salwani said.

For her these people are the “real losers” – not only materially but also in terms of their well-being.

Not only will their land become unproductive after being mined but their lives too will be affected in similar ways.

There are those who claim that the bauxite on their land is a gift from God and that they have the “right to earn money from it” even if their actions caused a massive ecological disaster. Not to mention other economic losses, like the tasty Beserah D145 durians which may be lost if the mining continues unabated.

A settler for the last 18 years, Salwani is the daughter of food stall operator, Tajuddin Harun, 68. She can proudly claim to have internalised the real purpose and meaning of being a Felda settler par excellence by harnessing a tough spirit of being self-dignified, and not falling for flaky offers no matter how lucrative they are.

It is claimed that bauxite mining in Kuantan is so lucrative that “more than 10,000 people have thrown caution to the wind” and turned to illegal earnings of some RM10,000 and RM40,000 a month. Yet Salwani and her family are unfazed by the temptations of big money.

It is claimed that an illegal operator with a minimum monthly output of 30,000 tonnes of the bauxite-rich red earth can spin RM360,000 by selling the ore to legal operators.

Those who illegally rent permits from AP holders reportedly make more than RM2.5 million monthly by supplying directly to bauxite dealers.

The mining started in January 2014 when Indonesia banned the export of bauxite preferring to build a vibrant domestic aluminium manufacturing base not just to earn better revenue, develop higher capacities and jobs, but also to leave the environment undisturbed.

Unfortunately, Malaysia seems oblivious to such opportunities despite our vision of a high-income nation drawing near.

Instead of analysing why the Indonesians did what they did, we opened the flood-gates to bauxite mining.

Inadvertently, this exposes the vulnerability of Felda settlers, in the vicinity of Kuantan at least. Though once “landless” and “jobless”, few community members exhibit the soundness of sustainable, intergenerational thought shown by Salwani.

Why this is so after decades of being successful settlers is something that we cannot gloss over any more. Even more so this week, when we are recounting Felda as one of the institutional legacies of the then second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.

We owe it to him to create more “Integrity Idols” not just among the Felda settlers, but for all Malaysians. Kudos to Salwani for leading the way.