KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 13): Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed his deep sadness following the death of his close friend, Tun Daim Zainuddin, who passed away on Wednesday morning.
In a statement, Mahathir described Daim as a loyal friend with whom he had worked closely in service to the nation.
Reflecting on Daim’s contributions, he said Daim’s efforts warranted recognition, yet in his latter years, Daim faced criticism instead.
Mahathir allegedly attributed such an action towards Daim as an act of “revenge” (dendam).
“He should have been honoured for his contributions to the cause, but at the end of his life, he was severely criticised (herdik) without reason.
“I can only pray, we will meet again at a later time,” Mahathir added.
According to his family’s statement earlier, Daim breathed his last at 8.21am on Wednesday, while receiving treatment at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya. He was 86.
Daim was born in Kedah on April 29, 1938, and served as Malaysia’s finance minister from 1984 to 1991, during which he was credited for steering the country through economic recession to high growth.
He resigned in 1991, but returned to public service eight years later.
After his reappointment as finance minister in 1999, Daim initiated the massive consolidation of domestic commercial banks and stockbroking firms.