KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian minister who caused a stir by quitting ruling coalition party UMNO to join Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political party has dismissed rumours that the move is linked to a potential by-election contest by him.

In a statement on Monday (Jun 9) evening, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that he has never considered taking part in any by-election, whether at the federal or state level.

"I would like to make it clear that no discussion related to this matter ever took place, and it was not part of my consideration in making that decision,” he wrote, as reported by national news agency Bernama. 

“I strongly disagree with triggering by-elections without urgent necessity, as they consume both time and public funds.”

Tengku Zafrul had announced on May 30 that he was quitting the United Malays National Organisation to join Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), citing various factors such as “compatibility and conformity”.