KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 10): The wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid, claimed that her husband is being persecuted for his wealth and success, adding that having either is not a criminal offence.
Na'imah, who has been called to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Wednesday for questioning concerning the corruption watchdog’s probe into Daim, said her husband's success is now being made an excuse to slander his reputation and paint him as a corrupt person.
"It's public knowledge that Daim was a very successful businessman prior to joining government in 1984. He was already widely referred to in the media as a tycoon and multi-millionaire before taking public office 40 years ago," Na'imah told the press in front of the gates of the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya on Wednesday.
"Now, a campaign of disinformation and misperception is being relentlessly spread suggesting that because he is very wealthy, he is therefore corrupt.
"There is no sense or logic in this, and no successful businessman in the country will be safe from such an insinuation," she added.
Na'imah and two of Daim's sons being called to the MACC comes after the anti-graft commission’s seizure of Ilham Tower, which belongs to the former minister and his family, just last month. Daim claimed the actions taken by the graftbuster in its investigations were “nothing short of a political witch hunt”.
Meanwhile, by persecuting Daim for his success and wealth, Na'imah questions whether Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is suggesting that Malay businessmen cannot become wealthy without resorting to corrupt means.
She noted that the prime minister post should never be used to besmirch the reputation of individuals by “insinuation and thinly veiled accusations of wrongdoings” or be used to settle old political scores.
“Yet, this is exactly what the prime minister has been doing by suggesting on several recent occasions that my husband has illegal wealth, but without providing an iota of evidence.
“Is the prime minister (Anwar) suggesting that hardworking and capable Malay businessmen cannot become wealthy without resorting to improper and illegal means? This will only serve to perpetuate false stereotypes about the capabilities of the Malays,” she added.
Na'imah claimed that while Anwar “may not like” Daim, the PM should respect the principle of innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
“In Malaysia now, are tenuous suppositions issued from the prime minister’s bully pulpit adequate to condemn a person?
“Today it is my family, tomorrow who knows who will be victimised,” she said.
Nonetheless, Na'imah said she and two of Daim's sons have extended their cooperation to the MACC as required by law despite their questions regarding the motives of the probe.
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