KUALA LUMPUR – Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid is keeping mum over her husband Tun Daim Zainuddin’s health, who is said to be in the hospital.
“I am not here to talk about personal (matters). It is personal info; I don’t like to share personal info.
“I have had a long day, and I’d like to return to the hospital, where my husband is currently,” she said in dismissing questions from the media during a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur court complex.
On January 8, Daim was admitted to the hospital. However, it was not disclosed why he needed to be there.
This morning, she was charged and pleaded not guilty to an offence of failing to declare her assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Na’imah, 67, has been accused of not declaring several assets, such as companies Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd, one Mercedes-Benz EQC400, one Mercedes-Benz SL 500, and properties including the Ilham Tower, a house in Persiaran Bukit Tunku, four lots of land in Bukit Tunku and one lot each in Penang and Taman Tun Dr Ismail, here.
She is also the elder sister of economist Muhammed Abdul Khalid, 48. Muhammed was appointed as economic advisor to the prime minister on August 27, 2018 by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The court today ordered RM250,000 bail on Na’imah, as well as to have her passport surrendered to court.
Soon after she posted her bail, she maintained her innocence at a press conference, where she claimed that the “real crime” is targeting “political opponents with concocted charges” and “wielding state power for personal ends”.
“I have faith, insya-Allah, that I will be vindicated at the end of this,” she said during a press conference outside the courtroom after being charged in the sessions court here.
She also has a message for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim: “Power is brief and there is always a reckoning for those who abuse it.”
Asked what the motive behind her message to Anwar was, Na’imah brushed off the media by saying, “Well, it’s obvious.”
Months ago, the agency issued Daim and his family members a notice under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009, which compels them to declare all movable and immovable assets in Malaysia and abroad within 30 days.
On January 19, Na’imah said the recent “sensationalist” news reports of the Daim family’s wealth have painted them in a bad light, even though its offshore assets are no secret.
She was referring to the reports that she and her two sons – Muhammad Amin Zainuddin and Muhammad Amir Zainuddin – are said to be beneficiaries of a trust with US$52.5 million (RM247.5 million) in assets, eclipsing Daim’s assets listed in the Pandora Papers.
Currently, Daim is being investigated by the MACC over the revelations in the Pandora Papers, which linked him and his proxies to offshore businesses worth at least US$31 million.
Last week, Daim’s legal team, led by former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, went to the high court here to challenge MACC’s probe.
MACC’s investigation into Daim was opened nearly a year ago, in February 2023, based on the mention of his name in the 2021 Pandora Papers. No charges have been brought against him yet. – January 23, 2024