Special lottery draw increase in 2021 was Cabinet’s decision, says Tengku Zafrul

Former finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz clarified that the decision to increase the number of special lottery draws to 22 per year in 2021 was a collective decision made by the Cabinet, including PAS ministers who were serving in the government at the time. Tengku Zafrul, now the prime minister's senior political adviser, explained that special lottery draws have been a part of the system since 1999, and a 22-draw annual ceiling had previously existed during the Barisan Nasional era before he assumed the finance ministry position.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, the government reverted to the original 22-draw limit and informed Parliament through an official reply. However, during the current Madani government, the number of special draws has been reduced to just eight per year, Tengku Zafrul noted. This clarification came in response to claims that Tengku Zafrul was personally responsible for the increase in draws, with PAS Youth chief Firdaus Nawi stating that PAS had opposed the increase.

The issue gained attention again after the Federal Court dismissed a Kedah government bid to overturn a ruling that stopped the state from renewing licences for pool betting and lottery operators. Kedah Menteri Besar Sanusi Nor suggested that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim now had the final say on whether gambling activities would be permitted in the state, warning that the Kedah people would "curse" Anwar if gambling were allowed to resume.

Anwar has since focused on the fact that the number of special draws was reduced from 11 in 2019 to eight in 2020 under the Pakatan Harapan government.