Zahid urges Madani govt to restore Umno's seven-minister quota after Tengku Zafrul's exit
SERIAN (May 31): Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has expressed hope that the Madani government will reinstate the party's quota of seven ministerial posts following the resignation of Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Aziz.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman said the party was previously represented by seven ministers, but with Tengku Zafrul's departure, only six remained.
'The most important thing is that Umno is represented by seven ministers in the federal Cabinet. While we are unsure whether Tengku Zafrul's appointment as minister was made under Umno's capacity, our assumption was that he was part of the party.
'If that's the case, then Umno now only has six full ministers. With Tengku Zafrul exiting Umno, the party is justified in requesting one ministerial seat to be allocated to us,' he said at a press conference after officiating the Pekebun Kecil Makmur and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda)-level pre-Gawai celebration held at Kampung Raeh Baru here today.
Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul, who is also Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry, announced his resignation from his roles as Umno Supreme Council member, Kota Raja Division chief, and Umno member.
In a statement yesterday, he expressed his intention to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh.
Zahid confirmed that he had received Tengku Zafrul's resignation letter today, which had been sent to Umno's executive secretary.
However, he added that he would seek legal advice to determine whether Tengku Zafrul had violated any agreements signed when he stood as a BN candidate during the 15th General Election (GE15).
'For candidates in the last general election, if they leave the party, they can be fined RM100 million based on their sworn declaration.
'Tengku Zafrul contested in the election but was defeated, later being appointed as a Senator. So, I need to verify this matter with our legal advisors first,' he said.
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