Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has been making headlines recently after speculations arose about his potential exit from UMNO to join PKR.
Tengku Zafrul has since addressed the speculations, confirming that he indeed held discussions to potentially join PKR, but currently, he hasn’t made any decisions on leaving UMNO and joining any political parties.
Tengku Zafrul must resign as MITI Minister in 2025
Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul
Relatively unknown outside of the corporate world before being appointed Finance Minister in 2020 by former Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Tengku Zafrul holds a unique position as he has continuously been a Cabinet member in 3 different administrations, namely under the premierships of Muhyiddin, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
However, this streak will come to an end soon as unless a General Election or Parliamentary By-Election take place, and he wins a Parliamentary seat, Tengku Zafrul MUST resign as MITI Minister next year.
So, why is this so? Here’s everything you should know.
The requirement to be appointed as a member of the Cabinet in Malaysia
For illustration purposes
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Malaysian lawyer Luqman Mazlan, a partner at Kuala Lumpur-based law firm ADIL Legal, elaborated that to hold the position in the Cabinet, an individual must be a member of either House of Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat or the Dewan Negara.
For context, as a Senator, Tengku Zafrul is a member of the Dewan Negara, hence why he currently can fill the MITI Minister position.
Let’s take a step back and define what exactly is a ‘Cabinet’ in the context of the Malaysian system of government.
The executive branch of the Government, Luqman asserted that the Cabinet of Malaysia is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament and is led by the Prime Minister.
He added that Article 43 of the Federal Constitution below deals specifically with the Cabinet, prescribing its role and the requirements to be a Minister.
According to the above provision, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints all Ministers in the Cabinet on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Moreover, Article 43(2)(b) of the Federal Constitution prescribes that a Minister must be from either House of Parliament, as we’ve mentioned earlier.
Circling back to the subject matter at hand, given that Tengku Zafrul is a member of the Dewan Negara, Luqman said that his membership is governed under Article 45 of the Federal Constitution.
Specifically, Articles 45(3) and 45(3a) prescribe the term of office for a Senator:
In other words, a member of the Dewan Negara can only hold office for two terms, whether continuously or in different periods, with each term lasting 3 years and is not affected by the dissolution of Parliament.
Tengku Zafrul’s senatorship will expire in December 2025
Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul
In Tengku Zafrul’s case, Luqman said that the MITI Minister is considered to have finished his first term of Senatorship when he was reappointed as a Senator on 2 December 2022.
This is because his incomplete term is considered as one term after he was reappointed into the Dewan Negara. For reference, the MITI Minister was first appointed as Senator on 10 March 2020.
Hence, the Federal Government will be forced into a Cabinet shuffle to replace Tengku Zafrul in December 2025 if Parliament is yet to be dissolved by then, which is very unlikely as the current Parliament lasts for 5 years up until 2027.
The only way for Tengku Zafrul to continue as a Minister beyond 2 December 2025 is if he wins a Parliamentary seat, either through the General Election or a By-Election.
For illustration purposes
So, what do you guys think of the rather complicated position Tengku Zafrul is in? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
