KUALA LUMPUR – Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz is touted to contest under the Umno banner in the coming general election, with several seats in Selangor being considered.
However, party insiders told The Vibes that another plausible seat that Tengku Zafrul is eyeing is the Padang Rengas parliamentary seat in Perak, where the incumbent Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz had previously announced that he would not be contesting in the next election.
“Tengku Zafrul is definitely considering the seat. Seeing that Datuk Seri Nazri is supposedly not contesting in the next round of elections, it does open up one more option for him while several party leaders have shown interest in helping him establish proper ground support,” said the insider.
The senior party leader also claimed that both Tengku Zafrul and Nazri shared a “good” relationship and only time will tell whether this would translate well into politics.
He added that the parliamentary seats the senator is considering include Kuala Selangor and Sg Besar.
The speculation came following the minister’s presence in several community activities in Kuala Selangor.
However, Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar had since brushed off the speculation, stating that Tengku Zafrul’s presence on the ground was in his official government capacity.
At the same time, Noh said that he will leave it up to the party leadership if they plan on fielding Tengku Zafrul in the coming general election.
Similarly, Sg Besar Umno chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos also gave his approval for the former senior banker to be fielded by the party in the seat.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan had confirmed that Tengku Zafrul had been a registered party member even before he became a minister, as reported by Utusan Malaysia. – The Vibes, May 26, 2022
