‘Hubungan Zafrul dalam UMNO tidak baik’

TENGKU Zafrul Aziz dipercayai mahu mencari masa depan lebih cerah dengan PKR berikutan hubungannya yang tidak berapa baik dengan beberapa pemimpin UMNO bersabit perebutan kuasa dalaman serta ketidakpuasan hati mereka terhadapnya.

Menurut sumber yang enggan dinamakan menyebut, beberapa pemimpin UMNO berpakat untuk menyingkir Zafrul, yang juga ahli Majlis Kerja Tertinggi, selepas keputusan tidak memberangsangkan pada pilihanraya negeri Selangor pada 2023.

Pada PRN pada Ogos 2023, UMNO yang bertanding 12 kerusi hanya memenangi dua daripada 56 kerusi DUN Selangor.

Pada April lalu. Zafrul meletak jawatan sebagai bendahari Selangor dengan alasan kegagalannya membawa perubahan kepada UMNO negeri. Pada waktu itu, beliau membidas UMNO Selangor kepada enggan menurut caranya untuk membawa pembaharuan kepada negeri itu.

“Saya tak hairan jika itu jadi penyebab kepada beberapa pemimpin UMNO untuk menyingkirkannya. Tengku Zafrul menyedarinya selepas PRN,” kata sumber itu.

Pada PRN itu juga, Zafrul disebut-sebut akan bertanding. Bagaimanapun, rancangannya gagal selepas adanya tentangan di kalangan parti terhadapnya.

“Ada juga kebimbangan ketika itu yang Zafrul, orang kepercayaan Perdana Menteri Anwar Ibrahim yang dilantik sebagai Menteri Perdagangan dan Industri, akan menyebabkan orang lain tertutup peluang untuk naik.

“Ini tradisi dalam UMNO. Mereka tak suka pada orang yang lebih pandai atau yang boleh menutup peluang mereka.”

Sambil menyifatkan Zafrul sebagai tokoh yang berwibawa dan rapat dengan Istana, sumber itu berkata ini antara sebab mengapa dia tidak disenangi orang lain.

Hasrat Tengku Zafrul untuk menyertai PKR sudah diketahui umum, dan ini mendorong pemimpin UMNO melabelnya sebagai pengkhianat.

“Bagaimanapun, mereka tahu apa sebenarnya yang terjadi.”

Zafrul mengesahkan Ahad lalu mengenai wujudnya perbincangannya dengan PKR tetapi belum ada keputusan dicapai. Beliau juga menafikan mengenai tawaran jawatan atau kedudukannya pada pilihanraya umum akan datang.

Ada juga khabar angin mengatakan beliau akan menjadi calon PKR sebagai menteri besar Selangor.

Baru-baru ini, Setiausaha Agung UMNO, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki dan Ketua Pemuda Akmal Salleh menyatakan tentangan mereka terhadap calon yang melompat di kalangan parti dalam Kerajaan Perpaduan.

Bagaimanapun, seorang pemimpin PAS menyifatkannya sebagai satu drama politik.

 

‘Zafrul has strained ties with Umno warlords’

TENGKU Zafrul Aziz may have been driven to explore a future with PKR due to strained ties with Umno warlords stemming from an internal power struggle and dissatisfaction within the party’s ranks, a source revealed.

A well-placed source who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that certain Umno leaders had been conspiring to sideline Tengku Zafrul, a Supreme Council member, after the party’s poor showing at the Selangor state assembly elections in 2023.

During the Selangor state election in August 2023, Barisan Nasional lynchpin Umno contested for 12 seats but only won two – a success rate of less than 17%. The state assembly has 56 seats.

In April, Tengku Zafrul resigned as the state chapter’s treasurer citing his inability to contribute to improving the state chapter. At the time, he criticised Selangor Umno for its lukewarm efforts to revive itself following its poor electoral outing.

“So, I’m not surprised that Umno warlords decided to get rid of him. And Tengku Zafrul noticed this after the state elections,” the source told FMT.

The source also revealed that Tengku Zafrul was poised to stand in the Selangor polls. However, his plans were derailed after a certain party leader expressed dissatisfaction with him.

There were also fears that Tengku Zafrul, said to be a valued member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet as investment trade and industry minister, would outshine, and eventually replace, a certain Umno leader.

“This is typical of Umno warlords. They dislike anyone who might outshine them.”

Describing Tengku Zafrul as a talented figure with close ties to the royal institution, the source suggested that such strengths likely intensified the unease among the warlords.

“It made him an easy target for certain factions.”

Still, there was a likelihood that Tengku Zafrul would come under fire now that his talks with PKR have come out in the open, the source said, adding that some Umno leaders have already branded him a “traitor”.

“However, everybody knows what actually happened.”

Speculation has been rife that Tengku Zafrul is planning to leave Umno to join PKR.

In a statement on Sunday, he confirmed discussions with PKR over joining the party but said no decision had been made. He also denied being in talks over state-level positions or by-elections, after rumours began to circulate that a move to PKR would see him become Selangor’s menteri besar.

In recent days, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and Youth chief Akmal Salleh have expressed their objection to “party-hopping” within the unity government.

However, one PAS leader brushed off the protests as “drama”, claiming that Umno and PKR had already discussed the matter behind the scenes.

 

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