M'sia's former finance minister once praised by LKY, Daim Zainuddin, dies at age 86

Malaysia’s former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has passed away at the age of 86.

He died on Nov. 13, his lawyer confirmed with Reuters.

His funeral was held on the same day.

The attorney shared that Daim had been in the intensive care unit for the past couple of weeks after suffering stroke, but that his cause of death remained unknown.

Praised by LKY, close friend of Mahathir

Daim served as Malaysia's finance minister from 1984 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001, under then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.

He was known to be a "close friend and confidant" of the former premier.

He even earned the respect of Lee Kuan Yew, who described Daim as someone who had "a quick mind, is good at figures, and decisive".

Lee credited Daim with initiating policies that moved Malaysia from state-owned enterprises to 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."

Daim reportedly resigned after his latter stint as finance minister, and was succeeded by Anwar Ibrahim, who ended up clashing with Mahathir on various policies such as currency control.

Daim later returned to the post in 1998 after Anwar was sacked by Mahathir.

In June 2001, Daim resigned again after taking a leave of absence for two months, citing no public reasons.

Bloomberg reported claims of Daim being "tired" of politics.

The day of Daim's passing, Mahathir posted a statement on Facebook mourning his long-time ally.

"I have lost a friend who stood by me in my struggle for race, religion, and country," Mahathir wrote.

He opined that Daim should have been honoured for all he had done for the country, but instead was harassed out of "vengeance".

Anti-corruption probe

In early 2024, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) announced that it would be charging Daim with failing to declare properties said to belong to him and his wife.

The MACC had revealed in December 2023 that it was probing Daim for alleged corruption and money laundering, said Free Malaysia Today.

This was following the seizure of the 60-storey Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur, when Daim failed to declare his assets after being issued a notice by MACC and granted five extensions.

Daim pleaded not guilty and called the probe a “political witch-hunt”, reported the New Straits Times.

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Top images Tun Daim Zainuddin/Facebook