Me, resigned? No such thing: Tengku Zafrul on Parliament absence

KUALA LUMPUR – Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz today denied speculation that he had resigned from his post, a day after the government announced that it would allow a fourth round of withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to help the public through the Covid-19 pandemic recovery.

Tengku Zafrul said his absence from Parliament for the Ministers’ Question Time (MQT) session was unavoidable as he had to handle a personal emergency.

“There was no intention to shirk my responsibilities to answer questions as Finance Minister,” he said in a Facebook post.

Earlier today during MQT, opposition MP Datuk Mahfuz Omar asked whether Tengku Zafrul’s absence meant that he had quit his post.

In an interview with Sinar Premium in January, Tengku Zafrul said he would rather resign than compromise on decisions that he feels are wrong – including allowing contributors to make further EPF withdrawals.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the government will allow a RM10,000 special withdrawal from the EPF to help those in financial difficulty due to the pandemic. – The Vibes, March 17, 2022