Ustaz Zul wants to create commercial centres, lures investors to Rantau Panjang

The 60-year-old candidate, who is also the former Rector (Academic) of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in Machang, said the vast potential of Rantau Panjang should be fully explored, hence the idea of developing new commercial centres capable of luring foreign investors.

"I have been deluged with complaints from the locals as they were hoping for a better future for Rantau Panjang. Yes, the area is famous as a duty-free zone, but there is also a need to have commercial centres with international brands.

"Rantau Panjang is already a famous spot among visitors who wanted to buy products from Thailand, so the creation of new commercial centres will give added value to the area," he said when met recently.

Elaborating, Zulkarnain or better known as Ustaz Zul among the locals, said the mission to rebrand Rantau Panjang could be achieved with good cooperation with the private sector.

"If we can control the government, we can deal with the private sector to bring popular international brands to Rantau Panjang. Most importantly, there must be a good network and government's support and cooperation," he said.

Zulkarnain is contesting for the Rantau Panjang against the incumbent Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff from PAS who won the seat in the GE14 with a 6,150-vote majority.

Also vying for the seat in the GE15 are Putra president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, Wan Shah Jihan Wan Din (Pakatan Harapan) and Datuk Mohd Zain Ismail (Parti Rakyat Malaysia.