This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 5, 2024 - February 11, 2024

HE cut a forlorn figure, bent over in his wheelchair, only partially sighted and looking frail and ill.

Many who saw Tun Daim Zainuddin in court last week said they were moved by the sight of the country’s once-powerful economic czar being hauled to court to essentially account for his vast fortune.

To be sure, the list provided by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) was impressively long (see list of companies and properties). Indeed, MACC investigations are not complete yet and have not taken Daim’s extensive overseas assets into account.

Daim himself had implied in his affidavit to support a judicial review application, which he, his family and their company Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd had filed challenging the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) action to freeze their accounts and subject them to investigation, that he would have been one of the country’s richest, as wealthy as Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan and nearly as rich as Robert Kuok.

He claimed that had he not joined the government when tapped by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad for his administration in the mid 1980s, he would be worth RM42 billion today.

He said that at that point, his liquid assets stood at over RM750 million. However, he was asked by Mahathir’s administration to liquidate his investments in public-listed companies and United Malayan Banking Corp. He claimed that those assets would be equivalent to the aforementioned RM42 billion in today’s market.

On Jan 29, Daim, 85, arrived in court to face his charges after the MACC, which had been investigating him and his family for hidden wealth and tax avoidance, was given the green light to proceed with charges by the AGC.

A diminutive figure who previously stood at a little over five feet, he arrived in court accompanied by his wife Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, who a week prior to this had also been charged in court on the same charge of not declaring assets, including land, companies and cars, to the MACC.

Daim’s lawyer M Puravalen told the presiding Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi that Daim had a whole host of medical conditions, being a kidney transplant patient and on immunosuppressant medication. He had also suffered from a series of mini strokes as well as a fungal infection in his eye, which has left him with vision in only one eye.

Daim could not stand up to have the charge read to him. He was allowed to remain in his wheelchair, next to the dock, not having to enter it as all accused must do.

Before Azura, he pleaded not guilty to one charge under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009, concerning an offence pertaining to disclosure of assets. He was charged with not declaring one Amanah Saham bank account, seven vehicles including a Rolls-Royce, an Austin Morris Austin and a Jaguar XJS HE, 38 companies and 25 properties, some of which are linked to the companies he owns.

Among the companies mentioned were Ibu Kota Developments Sdn Bhd, Maya Seni Holdings Sdn Bhd, Menara Ampang Sdn Bhd, Dream Cruiser Sdn Bhd, Landbelt Corporation Sdn Bhd, Avillion Bhd, Avillion Hotel Group, Admiral Cove Development Sdn Bhd and Avillion Hotels International Sdn Bhd, to name a few.

Some of the 25 properties are located in Ritchie Condo, Persiaran Ritchie and Desa Kuda Lari in Kuala Lumpur, Avillion Port Dickson, Avillion Admiral Cove and Admiral Marina and Leisure Club in Negeri Sembilan. There were many more.

When the charge was read out to him, Daim nodded his head in agreement. However, MACC’s prosecution division head Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin insisted that Daim state that he understood.

After a few moments, in a frail voice Daim said “faham” (understand). When asked by the registrar whether he understood the charge, Daim replied “minta bicara” — meaning he wants the case to go to trial and to plead not guilty. This came after the registrar had listed out all the assets to him, which took a few minutes.

The judge then set bail at RM280,000 with one surety but, because of his health, did not impose any other bail conditions, such as the surrender of his passport and reporting to the MACC once a month.

While this charge is only for not co- operating with the MACC to declare his assets, in Daim’s affidavit for the judicial review, he said he is being investigated under Section 23 of the MACC Act for abuse of power for gratification. This means he could be charged in the future under Section 23.

In 1984, Daim was appointed finance minister by Mahathir, a position he held until he resigned in 1991. During the Asian financial crisis in 1998, Mahathir appointed him as minister with special functions, a year later also appointing him as minister of finance I.

When Mahathir became the prime minister for a second time in 2018, he again handpicked his close ally Daim to chair the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) or Council of Elders, to advise the then Pakatan Harapan government on matters of finance and the economy. The CEP was disbanded when PH lost power in March 2020, after the so-called Sheraton Move when some PH lawmakers jumped to the other side.

After he was charged, Daim wanted to read a prepared statement before the hoards of media gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Court complex. However, he could not read it aloud as his voice was barely audible.

In the statement, Daim trained his guns on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim calling him “a wolf in sheep’s clothing who cries reforms but does the polar opposite”.

Lamenting the state of reform in the country, Daim said that, like many Malaysians, he wanted a new dawn for the country and was a supporter of Pakatan Harapan and Anwar in 2018.

He pointed to the dubious way that 47 corruption charges against Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had been dropped, hinting that Anwar had something to do with it. “For the sake of becoming the prime minister, Anwar made a person facing corruption charges as the deputy prime minister. Soon after, like magic, the DPM’s 47 corruption charges were dropped.

“Honesty, integrity and good governance have gone out the window. Independent institutions like the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Attorney General’s Chambers and Inland Revenue Board have been made pliable tools to pursue political opponents,” Daim alleged.

He said that as PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) chief Anwar “busies” himself “pursuing vendettas of the past”, the economy continues to take a hit, and the plight of ordinary Malaysians is ignored.

Describing the charge levelled against him as politically motivated, Daim reiterated that he is not guilty and looks forward to his day in court.

“In my twilight years, I may no longer have the physical strength, but my convictions have not wavered. I am not too bothered about my fate now. Let Anwar throw everything at me. “ 

When his wife Na’imah had been charged, she had cautioned Anwar that power is temporary in her quote of Shakespeare: “Man, proud man, Drest in a little brief authority”.

The former minister had been under investigation since February last year, based on information from the Pandora Papers — a leak of documents in 2021 exposing the hidden wealth and tax avoidance of past and present leaders across the globe.

Following that, Daim and his family members’ bank accounts have been frozen since July last year. Last month, the 60-storey Ilham Tower in the city centre, which is owned by his family, was seized by the authorities, prompting Daim to file the judicial review.  

Given his wealth, Daim and Na’imah can afford the best defence that money can buy. His defence team is currently made up of Puravalen, Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid, M Moganasundari, N Rajesvaran and Sachpreetraj Singh.

Former solicitor-general II Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden and Alex Tan Chie Sian from the law firm Wong Kian Kheong & Co, who were engaged by the couple for pre-litigation work, however were not officially instructed to appear as defence counsels.

The prosecution is led by Shaharuddin, along with deputy public prosecutors Ahmad Feisal Mohd Azmi and Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry.

Azura set March 22 for case management.

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