Pm Thanks Zafrul Hints At Future Role After Senatorship Ends

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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has hinted at a future role for Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who will be exiting the cabinet after his final term as senator ends on Dec 2. 
Addressing a post-cabinet meeting press conference in Putrajaya today, government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said the prime minister had alluded to the matter without disclosing any specifics.
“The prime minister said (Zafrul)... will surely continue to assist him and the government, possibly in a different form, role, or position in the future.
“The specific role or position has not been disclosed, so we will have to wait for whenever the time comes,” Fahmi said.
The communications minister added that the cabinet had also recorded their appreciation to Zafrul in what was his final cabinet meeting.
Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil“The prime minister expressed his thanks for (Zafrul’s) service and achievements, including in investments and investment negotiations, many of which have been successful,” Fahmi said. 
Previously, Zafrul expressed hopes of continuing to contribute to the government once his senatorship comes to an end, stating that he is willing to do such work in any capacity.
Zafrul, who quit Umno and joined PKR in August, also said he would like to stay in politics and not return to the corporate world.
At the time, former Umno minister Khairy Jamaluddin quipped that Zafrul could be appointed as a special economic adviser to the prime minister at the Prime Minister’s Department.
Reshuffle rumours
The impending end of Zafrul’s senatorial term, as well as other vacancies in the cabinet, had fueled talks of a cabinet reshuffle.
Two other cabinet posts have been vacant since May, following the resignations of economy minister Rafizi Ramli and natural resources and environment sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, after their defeats in the PKR polls.
Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan is temporarily assuming Rafizi’s role, while Plantation and Commodities Minister Johari Abdul Ghani assumed Nik Nazmi’s.
Pakatan Harapan’s Sabah chief, Ewon Benedick, had also quit as entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister earlier this month over dissatisfaction with the federal government’s handling of Sabah’s 40 percent revenue entitlement.  - Mkini

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