Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has offered to assist his successor when his senatorship expires on Dec 2.
He said he had informed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of his intentions and was awaiting a decision on the ministry’s future leadership.
“Whoever is the next minister will have to take full charge. What I can do is assist that minister during the transition,” he said at a press conference here today.
Asked whether he had a preferred successor, he replied: “I can be very honest and say no.”
Tengku Zafrul’s two-term senatorship, which began in December 2020 and was renewed last year, ends on Dec 2. This means that he cannot remain in the Cabinet unless he is elected as an MP in a future election.
Tariff case in US courts
When asked whether the ongoing tariff-related case in US courts could affect Malaysia’s commitments under the Asean-US pact, Tengku Zafrul said the country must stand by the agreements it had signed.
“When you sign an agreement, you must have the right intention. If your strategy is to wait for something beyond your control to happen before ratifying, that is dishonest,” he said.
On Monday, president Donald Trump said the US would face an economic and national security disaster if the Supreme Court ruled against his use of an emergency powers law to impose sweeping tariffs against nearly every country.
Trump said his administration planned to issue a US$2,000 payment to lower- and middle-income Americans using the tariff dividends, while using the remaining proceeds to lower US debt.
During last week’s oral arguments on the tariff case, Supreme Court justices cast doubt on Trump‘s authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which contains no references to tariffs.
Johor-Singapore SEZ discussions expanding to Indonesia
Tengku Zafrul also commented on recent proposals to broaden the Johor–Singapore special economic zone (SEZ) to include Indonesia, saying discussions had already begun.
“All three countries have agreed to study this. We are now waiting for senior officials to complete their assessment of the potential impacts.
“Logically, it should happen because the results have been positive, but let the study be completed first,” he said.
The Johor–Singapore SEZ action plan study is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2026.
