JUST last August, Ministers and Deputy Ministers were officially barred from holding positions in sports bodies. The intention was noble – to avoid conflicts of interest and let politicians focus on governing.
But Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz has been appointed the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) president over the weekend with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s blessings, no less.
What gives? Well, apparently it’s fine because Tengku Zafrul’s senatorship (and by extension, his ministerial post) expires by end-2025.
Hence, he’s only double-hatting just for a couple of months. In other words: the rule still stands but the Madani government is temporarily suspending it because well, Tengku Zafrul is leaving soon anyway.
Merit vs excuse
That’s not reform. That’s rule-bending on demand.
Like it or not, this has become a recurring feature of the Madani administration. For all the talk about accountability and good governance, we’ve seen this script before: rules drawn up for public display, then conveniently shelved when politically inconvenient.
Didn’t Pakatan Harapan (PH) rail against nepotism back when they were in the opposition? Guess whose daughter got nominated to be PKR’s deputy president in the upcoming polls?
And remember the pledge to clean up the government and end corruption? That didn’t stop Anwar from making Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was facing a slew of corruption charges, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM).
The excuse for Zahid was “stability”. For Tengku Zafrul who enjoys close ties with the royalty, it’s “transition”.
The merits of Tengku Zafrul leading BAM is never really in contention. Maybe he’s genuinely passionate about badminton and can help us win back the Thomas Cup and major badminton titles.
Bending rules becomes norm
But you can’t have a blanket ban on ministers holding such posts – and then poke holes in it whenever someone well-connected wants in. That’s not governance. That’s bending the rules as you go along.
And once you start making exceptions, the slope gets slippery. What’s stopping other ministers from quietly lobbying for “non-executive” roles while still holding office?
What’s to prevent another minister whose term is about to end from chairing a sports body, a GLC (government-linked company) or a university board – because it’s “just a matter of months”?
Either the rule applies or it doesn’t. This isn’t “quantum governance” where ministers exist in both compliant and non-compliant states.
Let’s not pretend this is a one-off. Malaysians have seen this pattern before – rules dressed up for the media, then bent behind closed doors. This is the kind of “reform” we are familiar with: “rules” applied selectively, withdrawn silently.
So yes, Tengku Zafrul is probably already preparing for life after the end of his Ministership in December. But in letting him through the door before he’s officially clocked out, the government has done more than bend a rule – it has also bent its credibility.
And once credibility is compromised, so, too, does the reform mandate. – May 12, 2025
Johan Abu Bakar is a reader of Focus Malaysia.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: Tengku Zafrul/Facebook
