Before our visit to Haji Din in Port Dickson, I reached out to the third co-owner of Lot D, Mak Long Farah. She is the daughter of the late Tok Bongsu (Grandmother’s and Haji Din’s youngest brother). Still in her mid-to-late 40s and holding a doctorate, I figured she would be hands-on, practical, and knowledgeable about real-world management. For this reason, I called her first before speaking with Haji Din, hoping to secure not just her consensus to manage Lot D, but also an ally for my upcoming discussion with her much senior uncle.
During our call that evening, I outlined my plan to demarcate the boundaries before initiating any land clearing or farming activities. I asked if she would be interested in letting me manage her portion under a formal agreement, offering a baseline lease payment of RM 40 per acre.
Her response was eye-opening. She mentioned that according to her information, an acre of palm oil can yield up to a ton of fresh fruit bunches, which could potentially earn around RM 1,000 per month. To her, RM 40 sounded like a fraction of what the land was worth. However, she went on to explain that managing the palm oil estate was simply not a priority for her right now. She stated that she would leave it to me to manage the land as I saw fit for the time being. She was not interested in signing a lease agreement, noting that if she ever had the desire in the future, she would revisit the land and decide how to manage it herself. Until then, I had free rein.
It wasn’t entirely the clear-cut agreement I had hoped for, but it gave me a tentative green light to proceed.
During the conversation, she also revealed that she had never received a single payout from the late Tok Borhan. Despite this, she had been paying the annual quit rent (cukai tanah) out of her own pocket, insisting she did so purely out of sincerity and respect for her late father’s legacy. I assured her that I understood her position and mentioned that I would be speaking with Haji Din next.
It wasn’t a fully satisfying phone call, but the objective was met: Mak Long Farah was officially informed, the boundary work could move forward, and I knew exactly where everyone stood before sitting down in Port Dickson.