Orchard Gives Former Politician New Lease of Life
By Rosli Zakaria
SETIU: Datuk Mamat Ghazalee Abdul Rahman never thought he would survive a freak accident during a bumpy boat ride eight years ago.
The accident near Pulau Redang left the then politician with a fractured backbone.
Bedridden, he was forced to decline a nomination to defend his Langkap state seat for the third term in the 1999 general election.
It was a depressing period for the former state Petroleum, Industry and Agriculture Committee chairman as he resigned himself to the fact that he might never walk again.
His last hope of recovery was corrective surgery, which doctors said gave him less than 15 per cent chance of survival. He took the risk – and beat the odds.
“I survived. Now, eight years after that surgery, I can climb duku and rambutan trees, of course, only the lower branches.”
Mamat Ghazalee, 59, had nursed himself back to health by spending most of his time tending his orchard – pruning trees and planting the best durian and rare fruit trees found in Terengganu.
Through sheer hard work, he turned his eight-hectare orchard into the first “heritage orchard” in Terengganu.
“All the walking and sweating made me healthy again. I am getting a bonus now in the sense that I am a happy man and I am reaping the fruits of my labour.”
Mamat Ghazalee’s orchard offers more than just fruit trees. Cutting through the land is a small stream teeming with fish.
There is also a family retreat which he sometimes turns into a homestay for guests.
He also grows sentang and jati trees for the furniture market. Recently, he planted 1,500 trees from the Aqualaria malaccensis species or sandalwood.
“I had done forward selling for the sentang trees and I hope to do the same soon for the jati trees. As for the Aqualaria malaccensis, I should be reaping the profits in six years,” said the economics graduate from Universiti Malaya.
The price of sandalwood from the Aqualaria malaccensis species is about RM200 a gramme.
“I just wanted to prove that you can do a lot of things if you know how to maximise your land use and have the passion to do what you love most.
“When I bought the land 13 years ago, it was just jungle. But I love agriculture and I slowly turned the jungle into an orchard. It is a healthy as well as a rewarding venture.
“I love the orchard. It has kept me going and my nine children will savour the rewards in the future.”
Mamat Ghazalee said when he was the executive councillor for agriculture, he had often told landowners that they could enjoy a comfortable life if they maximised use of their land.
“Many farmers thought I was merely talking. I took up the challenge and even when I was in pain, I proved that agriculture can be rewarding.”
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