Anwar will not be able to justify why he appointed Tengku Zafrul
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has disappointed many people after the announcement of his Cabinet. Not only Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Tuan Guru Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, but also certain quarters in UMNO such as former PM Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
And don't forget the public and your supporters are not very happy too.
Of course all media companies controlled by government have been trying to explain and justify whatever decisions you have made.
Other media platforms provide mixed reactions.
Mixed reactions are due to the reality of politics which does not only happen in Malaysia. There are truths and most people understand the situation Anwar is facing but not everyone can accept them.
Even former two-time-premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did mention recently that the unity government may collapse if Anwar did not appoint someone like Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as it was decided by UMNO itself.
This is unity government. Not Pakatan Harapan government alone.
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Malaysian controversial blogger, an asylum residing in England Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) appeared on video saying that nothing much to expect from Anwar Ibrahim's administration for the country. RPK has no surprise if Anwar becomes a dictator as good as Mahathir should there be any attempts from inside or outside the government to topple his position as the prime minister of the country.
You need to keep power which you have been dreaming for almost 25 years even you need to go through hell.
While it's understandable why Anwar has no choice but to appoint Zahid, people are still questioning what is the real reason of Anwar appointing Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz in his Cabinet line-up.
GE15 on November 19 saw Zafrul who was representing BN lost the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat to PH Amanah's Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. Sadly, Anwar went to the extent of allocating him senatorship to qualify him to become a minister.
Feedbacks from the public, economists, as well as political analysts and observers on Zafrul's past performance under both administrations of Muhyiddin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob showed that Zafrul's ability was far from satisfactory.
Anwar should be reminded that in 2021 Zafrul was directly or indirectly implicated in the leaked Pandora Box controversy and Anwar himself was vocal at that time urging the authorities to further investigate. Unfortunately, there's no news until today.
To please everybody some leaders say "look at bigger picture" 😁.
Whatever it is, allow Anwar to do his job. Time will tell us whether we should keep him or throw him out.
An article written by Ibrahim M Ahmad, published by FMT on December 3, 2022 has more questions for Anwar to answer. It's all about Tengku Zafrul.
Enjoy reading:
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim must give clear and convincing reasons why he went for Tengku Zafrul Aziz as international trade and industry minister in his newly-formed unity Cabinet.
That being the case, it falls on the prime minister to immediately explain why someone rejected by the rakyat has been smuggled in via the backdoor to take up such a critical post in government.
At a time when the national economy is in urgent need of foreign investment and a boost to its international trade, what special skill set does ex-banker Tengku Zafrul bring to the administration?
If Anwar hopes to call himself a prime minister with the rakyat’s mandate, he must choose for his Cabinet ministers from among those who expressly have the people’s mandate.
Perhaps an exception can be made when someone unelected has skills unavailable among elected members of parliament which best suits a particular need. Is one warranted in Tengku Zafrul’s case?
The reality is that Anwar himself has challenged Tengku Zafrul’s ability to hold high office.
In fact, Anwar can take a large chunk of the credit for Tengku Zafrul’s loss at the general elections on Nov 19 (GE15).
Just four days prior to GE15, Anwar said that Tengku Zafrul did not deserve to be elected as he was “insensitive” to issues plaguing the rakyat.
Speaking at a campaign stop that day, Anwar took Tengku Zafrul to task for playing down the ringgit’s recent steep decline as “normal”, and for not taking steps to protect its value.
That was not the only instance. As opposition leader, Anwar had repeatedly attacked Tengku Zafrul over the past year.
Last November, he called the former finance minister out for failing to respond on several matters affecting the public purse.
Anwar had asked for clarification about a multibillion-ringgit project mooted involving Subang Airport.
He had also asked why the government, which had put up a RM500 million guarantee in favour of AirAsia, was not giving financial help to the beleaguered Malaysia Airlines.
On top of that he had questioned various aspects of the proposed high speed rail project, which he said had been entered into on terms disadvantageous to the country.
At the beginning of this year, Anwar again flayed Tengku Zafrul in connection with the bankruptcy of cruise company, Genting Hong Kong. He asked how a “gambling company” was able to obtain unsecured loans totalling RM2.5 billion from three local banks, which had government entities PNB, Khazanah and EPF as their major shareholders.
The then finance minister’s response that such loans were “not uncommon” and posed “no material loss” to the banks, was ripped by Anwar as being “too casual” given the state of the country’s economy and the levels of poverty and unemployment among the rakyat which, he said, were not being addressed.
He even went as far as to suggest that the former finance minister’s answer smelt of a “cover-up”.
In the light of Anwar’s own recent misgivings, is it advisable for him to entrust such a critical aspect of the national economy into Tengku Zafrul’s hands?
Bringing Tengku Zafrul on board will not please PH supporters who again in 2022 voted for change, having been robbed of their mandate by the Sheraton Move in 2020.
The public will not be wrong to think that, by this appointment, Anwar is making unacceptable compromises on his own promises to implement widespread reforms in government simply so that he can hold on to the prime ministerial post he has coveted for 24 years.
To say that Tengku Zafrul’s appointment to Cabinet was not expected is an understatement.
A surprise choice by Muhyiddin Yassin, his performance as finance minister over two years under the eighth prime minister and his successor, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, has been underwhelming.
He also copped much criticism for several major decisions, including the cheap settlement which the government entered into with Goldman Sachs to resolve the 1MDB fiasco.
Anwar had himself spoken out against that settlement.
“On Goldman Sachs’ apparent involvement in this ‘scam’, I reiterate my position that the settlement reached between the Malaysian government and Goldman Sachs in 2020 was premature and failed to consider the losses that Malaysians will continue to bear,” Anwar said as recently as in April this year.
So, why then has Anwar picked Tengku Zafrul who he has discredited on multiple occasions in the recent past?
The prime minister must come out to justify the appointment immediately.
Chances are, however, that he will not be able to.
The appearance and act on the above video are for illustration purpose only.
End©Permadu
By Fauzi Kadir
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© 2022 Permadu Harmony Bersepadu
(Semua Hak Cipta Terpelihara)
(DILULUSKAN UNTUK SIARAN OLEH JEMAAH SIDANG PENGARANG)
PUBLISHED UPON APPROVAL FROM THE EDITORIAL BOARD
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