Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz
Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz’s second year as finance minister played out as an endurance run, as the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and political uncertainty that started in 2020 continued to play out in the background as the country struggles on the road to recovery.
The extended pandemic shock in early 2021 meant that Zafrul had to delay certain fiscal reform targets while contending with a downgrade of the country’s economic growth forecasts and sovereign ratings.
At the same time, the government focused its tightening resources on saving lives and livelihoods, including via additional economic packages totalling RM225 billion revealed between January and June this year. Billions of ringgit in cash handouts and allocations for hiring programmes and wage subsidies were channelled out, among others.
As the country moved towards reopening, Zafrul was appointed the coordinating minister for the National Recovery Plan (NRP) in July. In October, he tabled yet another record federal budget of RM332.1 billion for the year 2022.
The minister also had to address key issues constantly raised by the public, the opposition and even MPs within the federal government — including calls for an extension of the loan moratorium, further withdrawals of Employees Provident Fund savings by contributors, and claims of insufficient allocation to combat the pandemic and provide job security to the general public.
Meanwhile, the repatriation of 1Malaysia Development Bhd funds by the billions continued this year. The bombshell of a one-off “prosperity tax” on large companies and the push for 5G rollout under a new mechanism via Digital Nasional Bhd were among the highlights of the technocrat’s year in 2021.
One of the few ministers who consistently called for political bipartisanship, the senator survived political upheaval and has now served two prime ministers, having been retained in his post by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob after he was appointed prime minister in July.
“When lives are clearly at stake and our healthcare is tottering, we must rise above our differences and work together so we can truly bring the country out of the doldrums of this wretched pandemic,” said Zafrul in a commentary.
More importantly, the big task at hand will be to facilitate the diversification of the nation’s income, which is still much dependent on oil revenue, at a time when tax collections have dwindled in the economic downturn. Will the ministry bite the bullet and reintroduce the consumption-based tax as part of its long-term tax reform agenda? — By Adam Aziz - EDGE Dec 27, 2021
