Taib Andak: the founding leader who built Malaysia’s Felda
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In Malaysia, Taib Andak, who served as the first Malayan chairman of Felda from 1958 to 1971, helped establish the government agency that transformed rural landscapes and created opportunities for families.
Felda, founded in 1956, aimed to open land and provide livelihoods for Malaysians.
Taib Andak played a key role in turning this vision into reality by establishing over 100 land schemes across the country, including the Felda Taib Andak scheme, the agency’s first oil palm settlement, named in his honour. Taib built a career in public service, rural development, and the corporate sector, also chairing Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and serving on the boards of Sime Darby and Federal Flour Mills.
His daughter, Kalsom Taib, recalls his dedication to integrity, refusing gifts from clients and personally travelling to establish Felda schemes, often driving long distances without a driver. Kalsom noted that her father worked closely with then prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein to provide land for those without and jobs for the unemployed. She also described how Felda’s work enabled many settlers’ children to attend university and build successful careers, a legacy Taib would have valued.
However, Kalsom believes Felda has declined in recent years, straying from her father’s principles of non-political appointments and leading by example.
