Zafrul To Jump Ship To Pkr Selangor May Have A New Chief Minister Amiruddin Taking Over Miti Minister

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 Born with a silver spoon, Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has everything he can ever dream of, except one thing – winning an election. From being Bersatu’s poster boy to show that the Malaysian United Indigenous Party has a Malay professional, and not merely a place filled with pariah politicians with “IQ of a carrot”, Zafrul then became UMNO’s poster boy after his appointment as Selangor UMNO Treasurer.
 But his promotion on April 12, 2023 – served on a silver platter with UMNO Supreme Council membership thrown in as a bonus – only lasted less than a year when he resigned on April 1, 2024. His complaint – he can’t contribute positively due to a weak, directionless and ineffective Selangor UMNO leadership led by Selangor UMNO chairman Megat Zulkarnain Omardin.
It’s not rocket science that Mr Zafrul, who served as Finance Minister under two previous political masters – backdoor Prime Ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri – was extremely upset after being dropped from becoming a candidate in Selangor in the six state polls on Aug 12, 2023, despite earlier speculation of him leading Barisan Nasional’s charge.
UMNO was wiped out in Kedah and Terengganu, while winning only two seats in Penang and Selangor and one seat in Kelantan. The party only shined in Negeri Sembilan, winning 14 seats. He mocked his own Malay nationalist party for being rejected by Malay voters, saying the two seats won by UMNO were a painful reality to prove that the party is “very weak” in Selangor.
 What Zafrul was trying to brag is UMNO Selangor would have done much better if he was in charge instead. But why a high-profile man like him was so distressed that he had to throw tantrums over a state seat? That’s because his political journey, which had been paved with gold for him, would come to an end. He can no longer be a minister after December 2025 when his term as a senator ends. 
When Zafrul was picked by Muhyiddin as finance minister, he was sworn in as a senator on March 10, 2020. However, he surprisingly lost in the November 2022 General Election for the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat to Pakatan Harapan’s Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. It was a humiliation because he was considered a favourite to win based on his portfolio as two-time finance minister.
He had used up his quota when he was reappointed again as a senator to serve under PM Anwar Ibrahim as “backdoor” Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). A senator can serve for two terms as per the Federal Constitution, never mind his first term was incomplete due to the dissolution of the Parliament when then-PM Ismail Sabri called for a snap election.
 So, unless Mr Zafrul can win a parliamentary seat, he will be jobless after the expiry of his senatorship on Dec 2, 2025. The problem is this – no UMNO MPs wants to sacrifice their seat for the former banker, seen as an outsider. Without any power base or grassroots support, the former chief executive of Malaysian banking group CIMB was parachuted into politics by Muhyiddin.
 Muhyiddin didn’t choose him because he was talented, but rather because Zafrul was linked to Muhyiddin’s family. Apparently, Zafrul’s younger brother, Tengku Zuhri Tengku Abdul Aziz, is married to Fara Nadia Abd Rahim, whose elder sister Fara Ikma Abd Rahim is married to Muhyiddin’s eldest son Fakhri Yassin. Hence, Muhyiddin was using Zafrul to indirectly control the national coffers.
Worse, Zafrul was the same superstar singer in a “Hebat Negaraku” music video – a four-and-a-half-minute clip designed to worship and suck up to then-PM Najib Razak. At least 53 GLC Chief Executives had sung songs of praise for Najib or actively campaigned for the ex-prime minister, and Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz was one of them, when he was paid to professionally and ethically run a bank.
Still, some simpletons asked a hilarious question – what’s wrong that Zafrul sang a song of praise for Najib, even after the crook had been sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined RM210 million after he was found guilty of all 7 charges of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust (CBT), and money laundering – involving RM42 million stolen from SRC International Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of 1MDB).
 It was not hard to see Zafrul’s incompetence. The backdoor Perikatan Nasional regime’s US$3.9 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs over the American bank’s role in the theft of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) funds was the clearest proof that the country had been short-changed due to Zafrul’s incompetence and lack of intelligence to strike a good deal at the negotiation table.
The US$3.9 billion settlement agreed and trumpeted by the idiotic Zafrul, announced on July 24, 2020, included US$2.5 billion (RM10.6 billion) cash and a full recovery value of at least US$1.4 billion (RM5.9 billion) in proceeds from assets related to 1MDB seized by governmental authorities around the world – for a total amount of US$3.9 billion (RM16.5 billion).
 At first, the pathetic Zafrul crowed non-stop about how the settlement amount was significantly higher than the US$1.75 billion (RM7.4 billion) offered under the Pakatan Harapan administration back in 2019. In truth, Goldman Sachs’ offer of US$1.75 billion had been rejected by the previous Pakatan Harapan government, because the real demand was higher at US$7.5 billion.
 As revealed by former finance minister Lim Guan Eng, the initial demand of US$7.5 billion (RM31.79 billion) was derived from the total outstanding 1MDB debt guaranteed by the government, which stood at RM31.7 billion. Even if Goldman Sachs agreed to pay this amount (US$7.5 billion), the country would still make a huge loss because it didn’t take into account the interest payments.
Zafrul was so dumb and the deal was so bad that Goldman Sachs was super happy with the settlement that its chief executive David Solomon immediately went into celebration mode – moonlighting as a dance party DJ – in the Hamptons, despite New York’s social distancing requirements. About 2,000 people showed up to the party, including socialites and financial professionals. But it was just the beginning.
 During the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released some figures that were incredibly humiliating. Despite 10 months of chest-thumping and claiming credits by Zafrul’s finance ministry, the UN body that deals with trade, investment, and development issues dropped the bombshell – Malaysia was the worst performer in the region.
 Inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) into Malaysia stunningly dropped by 68% from US$7.8 billion (RM31.5 billion) in 2019 to US$2.5 billion (RM10.1 billion) in 2020. While it’s true that FDI inflows to Southeast Asia contracted by 31% to US$107 billion in 2020 due to Covid-19, other countries in the region did not do as badly as Malaysia under Muhyiddin regime.
Zafrul had also crowed that eight international venture capital fund managers had committed to invest up to RM1.57 billion into Malaysia startups in the fields of fintech, edutech, agritech, mobility and artificial intelligence (AI). However, EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAM Malaysia) CEO Sven Schneider was unimpressed by Zafrul’s lies and exposed him.
 Mocking the lazy Malaysian finance minister, Mr Schneider said many investors were having concerns in regards to Malaysia’s attractiveness as a viable investment hub. He said – “Until today, the Honourable Minister was not even able to meet with us and listen to the concerns of our corporations. Without these inputs, your Ministry certainly cannot address the problems on the ground.”
But despite his obvious incompetence, how did Zafrul manage to squeeze into Anwar-led Unity Government even after he was defeated in the 15th General Election? He was the only survivor of the previous backdoor Perikatan Nasional government who somehow managed to piggyback for the third time after riding on the previous administrations of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri.
He has been able to survive thanks to his marriage to the great granddaughter to the fifth Sultan of Selangor, which was also the reason how he managed to climb up the corporate ladder in the first place. Zafrul is married to Raja Datin Seri Utama Johanna Adrina Raja Arshad, a member of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan royal family. The royal title “Tengku” was his secret recipe.
 From the moment he quit as Selangor UMNO treasurer in April this year, the preparation has been set for him to jump ship and join Anwar’s political party PKR (People’s Justice Party) to become the next Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Selangor. Because that’s the only way Zafrul could continue his political career while maintaining PKR’s grip in the state. He can’t do that as a UMNO member.
 In the same breath, for months, there have been speculation of a mini Cabinet reshuffle involving current Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari taking over a federal post in recognition of his loyalty and achievement in defeating traitor Azmin Ali to capture the Gombak parliamentary seat. Zafrul, who was clueless about the consequences of a weak Ringgit, is more than happy to do a simpler job like running Selangor.
It’s likely that Amirudin would take over Zafrul’s current portfolio as the new Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). This chess move reflects Anwar’s signature strategy of balancing the power base by having two warlords checking each other so that his own power as PKR president can be maintained. Just like how Azmin Ali and Rafizi Ramli fought each other, introducing Amirudin would balance the influence of Rafizi.
But why does Anwar need to pamper Zafrul at the expense of other PKR loyalists? Well, he has very limited choices. Do you still remember what happened when Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was scheduled to unveil his highly anticipated cabinet at 5pm on December 2, 2022, only for the cabinet line-up announcement to be postponed to 8:15pm, leading to some suspense and panic?  
 Even hours before the cabinet announcement, the rumour mill was churning about the return of Zafrul as Finance Minister again. Apparently, the underperforming former finance minister had lobbied – shamelessly – for the powerful portfolio using his royal connection. Sure enough, the announcement of the appointment of Zafrul as the Minister of MITI was both jaw-dropping and disgusting.
However, at least Anwar could save the powerful finance minister by appointing himself for the post. Like it or not, Pakatan Harapan must rule and control the richest state Selangor by hook or by crook. Due to Zafrul’s massive cable in the Selangor Palace, he is now PKR’s new “poster boy”. So far, he hasn’t shown he’s a racist or an extremist. However, there’s a small roadblock – he has to win a state by-election first.
 It will not be a walk in the park though. Zahid Hamidi, president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has warned partners in the unity government about poaching members. Nevertheless, going by UMNO’s standard, everything has a price tag. The burning question is what Anwar Ibrahim willing to give up, after making a deal with the devil to free crooked Najib Razak from prison. - financetwitter
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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