KUALA LUMPUR – Insinuations made by top graftbuster Tan Sri Azam Baki that Tun Daim Zainuddin evaded criminal charges by getting hospitalised is “false and mischievous”, said Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, wife of the former finance minister.
She also slammed Azam’s comments made to a news site, saying his “disparaging remarks” against the dedicated and professional doctors of the hospital Daim is staying in is “particularly offensive”.
“I can confirm that neither myself nor our legal counsel was ever informed that Daim would be charged for any offence. We were only told that a statement was to be recorded from him. Only today, reading the news reports, have I discovered that Daim is to be charged.
“Let me state unequivocally that Daim is prepared to face any charge, anywhere, and will vigorously defend himself in accordance with the law,” she said in a statement today.
Na’imah also challenged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief Azam that Daim is prepared to face this “political charge” in the hospital itself, with the permission of his medical team.
“We will leave this to Azam and the MACC to decide,” she said.
Today, Azam was reported as saying that he had informed Daim’s legal counsel a week ago that the former minister was to be charged, but could not be done when Daim was hospitalised.
Yesterday, Na’imah did not want to comment on her husband’s health condition, only revealing that he was to undergo a medical procedure today.
On January 8, Daim was admitted to hospital. However, it was not disclosed why he needed to be there.
Na’imah, 67, pleaded not guilty yesterday to an offence of failing to declare her assets to MACC.
Among the assets were 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.
The court 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”.
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 (RM146.7 million).
Last week, Daim’s legal team, led by former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, went to the high court here to challenge the 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 24, 2024