BENTONG: Zakaria Ibrahim, 46, knows well the difficulties faced by a settler as his parents were among the first to join the land scheme in Felda Jengka 3, near Maran, in the 1960s.

For years, his parents had to struggle to build a new life in the settlement, which lacked basic infrastructure.

Zakaria had to help his father at their rubber holding because his sister was too young at that time. However, it did not deter him from making the same decision as his father.

"I decided to become a Felda settler as I could see how my parents finally benefited from the scheme," said Zakaria, who settled in Felda Mempaga 2 near here in 1986.

In fact, Zakaria is one of the most successful settlers in the Mempaga cluster. Earning a five-digit monthly income, he owns two houses, two vehicles and agricultural land outside the Felda scheme.
Three of his children are pursuing their studies under the Felda sponsorship while his youngest daughter is attending Sekolah Kebangsaan Mempaga 2.

Zakaria joined the Felda scheme when he had two children.

"I got married at the age of 21. At that time, most of my friends had either moved to the cities or gone to pursue higher studies.

"They were shocked when I told them about my decision to become a Felda settler."

Zakaria is lucky as his parents, who hail from Kelantan, are good at financial planning and have always stressed the importance of savings.

It was his parents who supported him during his early days at Felda Mempaga 2, when life was tough.

"It was difficult in the early years. The problem was compounded when the prices of rubber plummeted in the 1990s."

With a strong will, Zakaria managed to weather the hardship.

And together with his father, he bought eight hectares of idle land in Mempaga and cultivated rubber and oil palm on it.

The increase in commodity prices over the past few years has made Zakaria's life more comfortable.

He can now support his younger sister, who is studying at Universiti Teknologi Mara, and send his three children to private colleges.

Zakaria and his wife Kamariah Abdul Salam, 42, are also good at landscaping and have created well-manicured gardens at their homes.

"I always remind my children not to forget the hard times as it can drive them to work harder to achieve their dreams," he said.