Synopsis "Wakaf Tuan Farrer: Settlement Officer"
I use to write to the newspapers, mostly to the New Straits Times. My topics are primarily about works and my interaction with the people since I was a Settlement Officer. I was always on the field, rather than in the office. As a Settlement Officer, I had to learn land matters, land demarcations and land settlement. In 1954, the year I became the settlement officer, most of the lands in Kelantan were deep jungle full of wild animals. A good many of the people were also not developed; since there were very few schools in the State. So, my first job was to found a settlement which can afford the people all the amenities such as a site for school, playing ground, clinic, road, access plus a vast area for housing and plantation. Thus the minimum area of each settlement is three miles in radius. Here the people are grouped in one place. The idea is to minimise the distance within the settlement. Distance is a factor affecting the location. The importance of the range must be appreciated. Indeed, length has to be considered favourably in any settlement. I founded many of the settlements in the District of Ulu Kelantan, which also includes the District of Tanah Merah. Accordingly, my life as the founder of settlements, I chanced to be in all sorts of characters, gathered experiences and heard stories, which you all have not heard yet. Hence, my book reveals all.
