Takiyuddin says Tengku Zafrul did not bring gambling draw issue to Cabinet

PAS Secretary-General Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan says other ministers were not informed about the decision to allow up to 22 special lottery draws a year because the matter never reached the Cabinet.

Speaking after the opening of PAS’s 72nd general assembly in Kota Bharu, Takiyuddin said there had been no Cabinet paper or memorandum for ministers to consider the policy. He argued that the decision fell within the Finance Ministry’s authority while Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz held the finance portfolio.

“I remember it was not brought to me. There was no Cabinet paper, no Cabinet memorandum. It was decided that it was under his authority at the Finance Ministry,” Takiyuddin said.

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I remember it was not brought to me. There was no Cabinet paper, no Cabinet memorandum. It was decided that it was under his authority at the Finance Ministry.

Reports had previously said the decision to increase the number of special number-draws to 22 annually represented a collective Cabinet responsibility, including PAS ministers who served in the government at the time. Zafrul, now the prime minister’s senior political adviser, has rejected that framing, saying special draws were not new and had existed since 1999. He also said the 22-draw ceiling was already in place under the previous Barisan Nasional administration, before he became finance minister.

Takiyuddin said other ministers only learned about the frequency after the decision had been made. He said they raised objections once the number of draws became known, and urged Zafrul to confirm the account.

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Ask Tengku Zafrul to confirm it. He was the finance minister, while we were the other ministers. Since it was not brought to Cabinet, we had no information. Only after the number of draws came out did we raise our objections, and the matter had already been decided.