Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry 

Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz once called himself the “marketing man” for Malaysia in an interview with The Edge.

The former investment banker turned senator, who is no stranger to the international arena, has certainly lived up to that title this year as he has often been seen at international events, alongside Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, promoting Malaysia as the preferred destination for investments.

This year, the country has attracted a considerable amount of approved foreign investments (FIs). For the first nine months of 2024, approved FIs amounted to RM106.65 billion.  

Zafrul and the ministry also garnered attention for courting investments from big international names for building new digital infrastructure, which includes data centres, in the southern region of the peninsula. These include Google’s pledge to invest US$2 billion (RM9 billion) in Malaysia and Microsoft’s US$2.2 billion commitment over four years.

Zafrul, who is a member of Umno, entered politics during the 15th general election, contesting in Kuala Selangor.

While many thought his defeat to Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad would be the end of his political journey, he was appointed as Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, against all odds.

His senatorship ends in December 2025 and he will not be reappointed, having served two terms.

Zafrul’s moves have always been closely watched. In April, he resigned as Selangor Umno treasurer, saying he had not been able to contribute to “positive changes or improvements”. Talk of him joining PKR peaked late in the year, with Anwar and Zafrul himself confirming there had been discussions over the matter, although no decision had been made. While the move has yet to materialise, it has already drawn criticism.

After what many would consider an illustrious career, the question for Tengku Zafrul is, what comes next? — By Esther Lee

Second Finance Minister

Shortly after his appointment as a senator and subsequently minister of finance II in December last year, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan in an interview in February made it clear that he is a technocrat, not a politician.

“I am here to help him (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) work on a lot of things that a government has to do, [such as] taking the load off his day-to-day duties and following through on everything so that he can spend more time on policy matters and provide leadership to other ministries,” he told Bernama in the interview.

A few months later, on June 9, Amir Hamzah announced the removal of the diesel subsidy effective the next day. To cushion the impact on domestic prices, selected sectors were allowed to purchase diesel at subsidised rates.

The move would save the government RM4 billion annually.

While the move was praised by economists, complaints were aplenty from certain sectors that were hit by the subsidy removal such as tour bus operators as well as construction and property players.

Amir Hamzah had to explain the move in parliament when questioned by opposition policymakers. He stood his ground and reminded MPs not to politicise the issue. “We never removed the subsidy; we only targeted it to the people who are in need. We don’t want to subsidise Thai nationals,” he said, referring to the diesel smuggled out of the country at the borders.

Not only that, he had to communicate other government initiatives, such as the New Industrial Master Plan 2030, National Energy Transition Roadmap, and the increase in the Sales and Service Tax from 6% to 8% from March 1.

Amir Hamzah’s corporate pedigree has stood him in good stead. He was CEO of the Employees Provident Fund before his appointment as FM II, and also helmed Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s Themed Attractions Resorts & Hotels Sdn Bhd and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA). He had long stints at Petronas and other corporations, namely Icon Offshore Bhd (KL:ICON), MISC Bhd (KL:MISC) and Petronas Dagangan Bhd (KL:PETDAG).

Under Budget 2025, the subsidy on RON95 will be removed for the T15 group and foreigners. In 2025, the public will be waiting to see how the government will go about doing this and Amir Hamzah will certainly be the one patiently explaining to everyone just how and why it needs to be done. — By Jose Barrock