FINANCE Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz’s “adoption” of Kuala Selangor constituency can be seen as an attempt at vote-fishing for the next general election, whether or not he contests the seat, civil society groups and analysts said.

Worse, such actions are an abuse of his position as he is showing preferential treatment to a specific area, when a minister’s duty is to serve all Malaysians.

Others also feel Tengku Zafrul’s actions are only problematic because he is not an elected representative.

Thomas Fann, chairman of electoral watchdog Bersih 2.0, said as a minister, Tengku Zafrul must treat all constituencies fairly.

“Adoption of a district to spur development implies that he is giving special preference to Kuala Selangor as the minister of finance,” Fann told The Malaysian Insight.

“As a federal minister, he has to treat all districts and states fairly.

“It is clearly an abuse of his position, whether or not he will be contesting there in the next general election.”

Despite this, Tengku Zafrul is not breaking any law, Fann said.

Tengku Zafrul, a senator, hosted an event called Majlis Kenduri Rakyat in Puncak Alam over the weekend, where he said his ministry is “adopting” the Kuala Selangor district, which will help spur development in the area.

“Personally, I am a little sentimental with the Kuala Selangor district. There are many local potentials that can be developed and highlighted,” Tengku Zafrul told his audience, as quoted by Bernama.

The finance minister is rumoured to be eyeing the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15).

He was recently revealed as a long-time Umno member by party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan.

Tengku Zafrul’s appointment to the finance post, however, was by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin when the latter was prime minister.

At the Puncak Alam event, however, Tengku Zafrul, while stating his affection for Kuala Selangor, also said the Finance Ministry is not focusing on development plans for the area alone but for all other districts as well.

Transparency International Malaysia president Muhammad Mohan said Tengku Zafrul should refrain from such comments as they could be misconstrued at vote buying.

“He is the finance minister and there are rumours that he will be contesting in the area,” he said.

“He should refrain from adopting Kuala Selangor. People will say that it is an abuse of power.”

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) can take action against Tengku Zafrul, he said.

“Being the finance minister, people look up to you. He doesn’t represent any party. People have high regard for him and expect him not to tarnish his reputation,” he said.

The talk that Tengku Zafrul may contest for Umno in Kuala Selangor has not been confirmed or denied by any of the party’s leaders. There is no date set, after all, for GE15. But the senator’s activities in the constituency have not been welcomed by the local Umno grassroots.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar also agreed that Tengku Zafrul’s favouritism is an abuse of his ministerial power.

“As a federal minister, he should not have favoured a constituency over the others,” Tunku Mohar said.

“It is a clear case of abuse of power, using his ministry and, worse still, taxpayers’ money, to further his political ambition.

“It is unbecoming for a federal minister to do that.”

Political analyst James Chin of University of Tasmania said Tengku Zafrul is just acting like any politician, the only exception being he is not an elected representative.

“All ministers to a certain degree abuse their power, they call it ‘minister’s discretion’,” he said.

“It’s only unusual because Tengku Zafrul is not an MP. But as a minister, he has a huge allocation, which he can use where he wants.”

Chin said there is only one good reason for Tengku Zafrul to “adopt” Kuala Selangor – he wants to win votes.

“Obviously, you only do this if you’re fishing for votes,” he added. – June 8, 2022.