‘The banker who crossed the aisle'

Borneo Post

08-06-2025

Tengku Zafrul (left) seen with Anwar during the Asia-Pacifi c Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders Week (AELW) in Peru last November. – Bernama photo
TENGKU Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, former finance minister, has officially left Umno, and is expected to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Does this breaking news raise eyebrows?
No. This kind of headline on party-hopping of politicians has been a norm in Malaysian politics. Most Malaysians do not see this as a betrayal these days.
Is it a political upgrade, or politics of convenience?
Prof James Chin of the University of Tasmania believes that Tengku Zafrul's recent announcement did not catch PKR or Umno off guard.
He said the timing was no coincidence as PKR had just completed its party's election.
Chin did not expect tensions between PKR and Umno as the exit was planned, and he dismissed warnings from some Umno leaders as 'mere smokescreens'.
'Umno already knew he was leaving.
'The fact that Umno has not attacked (Prime Minister and PKR president Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim openly since February, means that they have already come to an understanding.'
Tengku Zafrul brought banking sector boardroom discipline into the Cabinet during the Covid-19 time in 2020. He was appointed into Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's Cabinet as Minister of Finance after being made a senator.
Tengku Zafrul's journey in politics, with no grassroots base and little political baggage, has been unorthodox from the start.
He was fielded in Kuala Selangor in 15th General Election (GE15), but he lost.
But that did not quite end his political ambitions. He was made a senator again in December 2022 and appointed as the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in PM Anwar's Cabinet.
As his senatorship ends in December 2025, and constitutionally he cannot be reappointed a third time, Tengku Zafrul needs to find a political home – or rather, his future in politics.
His shift to PKR feels less like a reinvention, and more like realignment. Some call it survival, others call it strategy.
Chin opined that Tengku Zafrul might be eyeing an appointed post in PKR leadership, as well as a winnable seat for the next general election.
He said Umno had already viewed Tengku Zafrul as an election candidate with low winnability, particularly in the Malay heartlands.
'(Figures like Tengku Zafrul) can only win in mixed areas, so he probably thinks PKR is a better fit for him.
'Since his senatorship can't be renewed, his best chance to continue to serve in government is to stand as a candidate in GE16.
'And since he thinks PKR is a better bet, now is the best time to go in, (after the PKR elections and) two years before GE16.'
Well, this is simply Malaysianstyle politics.
Tengku Zafrul's decision to join PKR, the very party that was forged in the crucible of 'Reformasi', will raise many uncomfortable questions.
Many have asked: 'Is PKR simply broadening its base to include Malaysia's elite, even at the cost of its founding ethos, 'Reformasi'?
To some within PKR, his entry is welcomed. Undoubtedly, Tengku Zafrul brings in credentials, networks, and an aura of technocratic professionalism.
But to others, especially those who have fought for decades in the political trenches, this cuts deeper.
The 'Reformasi', at its heart, was about a struggle for justice, accountability, and a break from entrenched power structures.
Today, many critics think PKR is increasingly moving out of the very structures that it once sought to dismantle.
Tengku Zafrul is not the first Umno member to walk through its doors. He joins a growing list of former adversaries turned allies.
The labels of 'Reformasi' have faded. What remains is a machinery that seems less interested in ideology, and more focused on winnability so as to remain in the government.
Questions arise here: Is PKR evolving to reflect Malaysia's new political realities, or is it diluting itself in the process?
Can a party remain a vehicle for reform while welcoming those who once upheld the old order?
Certainly, Tengku Zafrul is making a bet – that PKR offers the best platform for his future.
It's a calculated move. Umno, weakened by electoral losses and internal rifts, offers little more than nostalgia now.
PKR, in the government, provides proximity to power.
For a man who has tasted ministerial life, it's a logical next step.
But for Malaysians watching from the sidelines, this is more than just another political crossover.
It signals the continued erosion of ideological clarity in our party system.
We are fast becoming a nation where parties are no longer platforms for ideals, but transit lounges for ambition.
In this new Malaysia, politicians don't need to believe in a cause – they just need a sense of which way the wind is blowing.
Tengku Zafrul has made his move. It might pay off; it might not.
But it leaves us with a familiar taste – the tang of disillusionment.
Former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has shared the guiding principles behind his decision-making.
'We make all kinds of decisions every day. There are big decisions, and there are small decisions.
'Here is my tip for making decisions. It is not about what we want.
'It is about what needs to happen,' he said in a social media post.
PKR, once a symbol of 'Reformasi', perhaps can take this tip in making its decision while asking itself a question: 'Is the party building a broader tent, or simply housing yesterday's power players?'
As for the rest of Malaysians, we have seen this play before.
We know the ending. And yet, we keep watching.