Who is Daim Zainuddin?

The former Finance Minister of Malaysia worked together with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in his Cabinet from 1984 to 1991.

A fellow Kedah politician, he won the respect of none other than Lee Kuan Yew during his time as Finance Minister.

LKY on Daim

In his memoirs, Lee Kuan Yew recalled discussing with Mahathir about his plans to develop the island of Langkawi into a tourist resort.

He later wrote the following observation in his book From Third World to First about Daim:

"(Mahathir) asked me to discuss the problems with Daim. Daim Zainuddin is his close aide and long-standing friend from his home state, Kedah. He has a quick mind, is good at figures, and decisive, and had been successful in business before he became finance minister.

As finance minister, Daim initiated the policies that moved Malaysia from state-owned enterprises into profit-oriented private enterprise corporations. Without his active intervention, Malaysia's conversion to free-market policies might not have been so broad and so successful. Daim was a shrewd deal-maker who honoured his agreements."

High praise indeed from a man who was famously difficult to impress. LKY even credited Daim for working with Mahathir to revamp Malaysia's economy:

"Malaysia had tried to industrialise through import substitution but without success. They saw how with investments from MNCs we succeeded.

Daim encouraged Mahathir to privatise their inefficient state-owned enterprises and invite foreign investments; he changed policies and succeeded."

Daim was close enough to LKY that he visited Singapore for the funeral, to pay his respects.

Daim speaks up

Like Mahathir, Daim was a member of UMNO and part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. He even served as UMNO's treasurer.

But it looks like Daim won't throw his support behind UMNO candidates for GE14, choosing instead to back members of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) opposition coalition.

On April 30, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) politician Mohamed Azmin Ali tweeted pictures of himself walking the ground with Daim in Selangor.

Tun Daim menemani saya di kempen PRU 14 di Telok Gong Pelabuhan Klang dan Kg Bukit Kapar, Sementa yang merupakan kubu UMNO. pic.twitter.com/VkZOs0MNjB

— Mohamed Azmin Ali • 🇲🇾 (@AzminAli) April 30, 2018

Translated, it reads:

"Tun Daim accompanied me in the GE 14 campaign at Telok Gong, Port Klang and Kampung Bukit Kapar, Sementa, which are UMNO fortresses."

Azmin is PKR's Deputy President and also the Chief Minister of Selangor state. He is contesting both the Parliamentary seat of Gombak and the state assembly seat of Bukit Antarabangsa.

Daim's support will give him a boost as he tries to defend Selangor from a BN takeover.

What's interesting is that during the previous general election in 2013, Daim came out strongly for the BN.

He made a public speech blasting PKR's leader Anwar Ibrahim, branding him a liar and urging voters to make the "right choice".

So for Daim to back a PKR candidate now is a pretty big turnaround.

Vote for Mahathir, says Daim

But Selangor isn't the only place where Daim has appeared. On May 1, Daim said publicly that he was "fighting for justice" by speaking at PH events and called UMNO an "illegal organisation."

Speaking to reporters in Pendang, Kedah, Daim said:

"I am fighting for justice for the people. I am not scared of disciplinary action being taken against me because UMNO is an illegal society and under the law, I cannot be a member of an illegal society."

Daim has apparently based his claim on the fact that UMNO has not held internal party elections for more than 54 months, the maximum limit stated in UMNO's party constitution. Hence, it's an "illegal" society in his eyes.

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Daim also spoke up in support of his old friend Mahathir, saying that he is "sacrificing in his old age" to fight for the voters.

He said:

"The cost of living did not go up during his time and the goods and services tax was not introduced then. So please vote for candidates with the eye logo (PKR's logo, adopted by PH candidates) so it will remind you to open your eyes."

Top images by Wesley/Keystone and George F. Lee via Getty Images.

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