Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, the minister of international trade and industry, was named to the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) Supreme Council (Feb 17).
Tengku Zafrul wrote on Facebook: "Tonight, I took an oath as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council, in front of the top leadership, who are also my close allies.
“I would like to express my highest appreciation to Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, (who is the) UMNO President and the Deputy Prime Minister, as well as the entire leadership for the trust given through this appointment.
“I will always uphold the party's struggle for religion, nation and homeland, God willing.”
Tengku Zafrul's appointment ceremony took held in the UMNO headquarters in Menara Dato' Onn, and the news was first made public by UMNO Secretary-General Ahmad Maslan in a tweet congratulating Tengku Zafrul on the occasion.
“The UMNO Supreme Council meeting … started with senator Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz taking his oath as a UMNO Supreme Council member, appointed by the UMNO president (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi),” Mr Ahmad tweeted on Thursday.
Before being named Minister of Finance by then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin in March 2020, Tengku Zafrul served as the chief executive officer of the CIMB Group. Afterwards, he worked in the same position for Mr. Ismail Sabri's administration.
Thereafter, on a Barisan Nasional ticket, Tengku Zafrul ran in the 15th General Elections in November of last year. He stood for the Kuala Selangor seat but was defeated by Dzulkefly Ahmad of Pakatan Harapan by 1,002 votes.
He was later reappointed as a senator, and under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, he currently holds the position of Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry. The only cabinet member who has worked for three distinct prime ministers is Tengku Zafrul.