REMBAU: Port Dickson member of parliament Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said the development projects in his constituency will benefit the people of Rantau if Dr S. Streram wins the by-election on April 13.
He also assured voters that the scale of the development projects in Port Dickson would be large enough to include nearby areas including Rantau.
The PKR president said this was due to the close proximity of both constituencies, which were adjacent to each other in Negri Sembilan.
"If Streram wins, it will be easy for me to work with him," he said during a 'ceramah' at Taman Sri Ramai in Rantau here tonight.
"For example, if a company decides to build a large hotel with 1,000 rooms, I will make sure that only locals - Malays, Chinese and Indians - are trained.
"Once the hotel is completed, they can work there. Right now, I am only taking people from Port Dickson, but after this I will take in people from Rantau," said the prime minister-in-waiting.
He said there would always be job opportunities for the people of Rantau if there was development.
"The ex-cops and military men can become security guards. The youth can undergo training and the aunties can be cleaning ladies," he quipped.
Anwar, however, made it clear that Rantau would still benefit from the development projects in Port Dickson even if Dr Streram lost the by-election.
"This is not a conditional (promise). But I hope Streram wins because at least there is someone I can work with."
The Rantau by-election is a four-cornered fight between Mohamad from Barisan Nasional, Dr Streram from Pakatan Harapan, and two independent candidates R. Malarvizhi and Mohd Nor Yassin.
Polling day for the by-election has been set for April 13, with early voting being held four days earlier.
The by-election was called after the Federal Court dismissed an appeal filed by Mohamad to set aside an Election Court decision to declare his victory in the 14th general election (GE14) null and void.
Mohamad had won the seat uncontested in May 2018 after Dr Streram was unable to submit his nomination papers after being denied entry into the nomination centre for not having a pass issued by the EC.
The seat has 20,926 registered voters, including 118 early voters and four absentee voters.
PKR has thus far won all three of the by-elections it has contested.
Pakatan Harapan, however, has lost the last two polls in Cameron Highlands and Semenyih, heaping pressure on Anwar to secure a win for the coalition.
This is the seventh by-election since the 14th General Election and the third this year.