Finance minister told to focus on his job and the economy and not try to woo voters in Kuala Selangor.
Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz should not abuse his position as minister to contest in a constituency, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has warned today.
In a statement, Loke said Tengku Zafrul’s approach of “adopting” Kuala Selangor is an abuse of authority, amid rumours that he is slated to contest the seat under Umno.
“Tengku Zafrul should not use his position as Finance Minister to give himself an advantage to contest in a constituency.
“Throughout my tenure as a Member of Parliament since 2008, I have never heard of any ministry using the ‘adopted district’ approach,” Loke said.
Loke who is also former transport minister added that a ministry needs to formulate policies and deliver services to the whole country and not just any one particular area.
“Furthermore, approval for a railway station is also not under his jurisdiction as Minister of Finance.
“Approval for the ‘railway scheme’ is under the responsibility of the Land Public Transport Agency which is an agency under the Ministry of Transport,” Loke said.
Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul had in a Bernama report announced the approval to construct a Northern Alignment East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) station in Puncak Alam at a Majlis Kenduri Rakyat Kuala Selangor.
According to the Environmental Impact Assessment report for the ECRL project, the Puncak Alam station was listed as “provisional”.
Tengku Zafrul also mentioned his intention to make Kuala Selangor the adopted district of the Ministry of Finance, to realise the progress of the district as much as possible in the future.
He added that he views the Kuala Selangor district sentimentally.
Last month, an Umno division in Selangor had called on its members to boycott programmes involving finance minister Tengku Zafrul, amid talks that he is eyeing the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat in the next general election.
In January, he was reported as saying that he did not have time to think whether he wanted to contest in the next election, following speculation linking him to the Lembah Pantai and Kuala Pilah parliamentary seats.
Meanwhile, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin told Tengku Zafrul that he should focus on his job and the economy and not try to woo voters in Kuala Selangor.
He also said the Treasury does not need to “adopt” any parliamentary constituency.
Khaled said Putrajaya should instead address issues like the surging food and commodity prices, recurring traffic congestions and LRT delays.
He added that passports take weeks to be renewed and thousands wait in long lines at the Johor-Singapore Causeway.
“Barisan Nasional is also responsible for all of this as it is part of the government. The prime minister is facing attacks due to negligence by ministers in carrying out their responsibilities,” he wrote on Facebook today.
“It is unfair to blame the prime minister when ministers should step up to the plate and show leadership.
“However, for the finance minister, his priority appears to be Kuala Selangor.”
Tengku Zafrul has also irked local Umno leaders with his activities in the district.
Kuala Selangor Umno chief Jahaya Ibrahim said these activities are “disruptive” to the grassroots machinery there.
The finance minister is taking advantage of Umno’s restored popularity to stake a claim for the seat, he added.
“We have been working hard since 2018, and now he comes here after we have done all the work,” he told The Malaysian Insight.
“He tried to come here but the Kuala Selangor Umno division rejected him. But despite our rejection, he persists in encroaching on our territory.”
“I have told Selangor chief Noh Omar that I’m against his intrusion.”
The Kuala Selangor seat is held by Amanah’s Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The ex-health minister first won the seat under PAS in 2008, but lost it to Barisan Nasional in 2013.
He reclaimed the seat in 2018, defeating Umno’s Irmohizam Ibrahim and PAS’ Mohd Fakaruddin Ismail with a 8,498-vote majority.