MORE than 33,000 residents around Felda Gugusan Chini, including 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.

He said it was hoped that the water supply problem to the areas would be over, with the construction of the ORS reservoir at the intake point of Sungai Mentiga.

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

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

Asked on his approach to ensure victory for BN in the by-election, Sharim said he would follow the footsteps of former Chini assemblyman Abu Bakar Harun.

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

Sharim said he would focus on community issues in his campaign.

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

The Chini state by-election set on July 4 sees a three-cornered fight between 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 being called after the movement control order was implemented on March 18. – Bernama, June 22, 2020.