PEKAN (June 22): Over 33,000 residents around Felda Gugusan Chini, including those in traditional villages, will benefit from the off-river storage (ORS) reservoir project currently undertaken by the government, according to Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Chini state by-election Mohd Sharim Md Zain.

In fact, he said it was hoped that the water supply problem in the areas would be over, once and for all, with the construction of the ORS reservoir at the intake point of the Mentiga River here.

He said this to Bernama when met during his meet-and-greet event with voters around Bandar Dara Chini today.

The project is expected to start in September after it was put on hold following the change in government. The RM18 million allocation for the purpose was approved in 2017.

Meanwhile, when asked on his approach to ensure victory for BN in the by-election, Mohd Sharim said he would definitely try to follow in the footstep of the former Chini assemblyman, the late Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Harun.

“I will definitely use my experience of working with him (Abu Bakar), who had done so much to ensure the well-being of Felda settlers, traditional villages and the Orang Asli, as my guide,” he said.

As such, being the second generation of Felda settlers, Mohd Sharim said he would focus on the community's issues throughout the campaign period.

“For the Chini state constituency, we see an increase in the population of the young generation. So, a lot of things must be given attention to, especially in terms of development, housing and the socio-economy,” he said.

The Chini state by-election set for July 4 sees a three-corner fight between Mohd Sharim, 41, and two independent candidates, Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin, 64, and Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli, 49.

The state constituency has 20,990 voters, mostly involved in the plantation sector.

The by-election is the first ever being called to be held under the new normal after the movement control order (MCO) was implemented on March 18.

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