KUALA LUMPUR — The late former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin wanted Malays to start from the top which is why he gave out government projects, contracts and licences, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
Whether or not that was an abuse of power, the former prime minister said if the federal government had not done so, there would be no big Malay businesses in Malaysia.
In another tribute to his former right-hand man when they were in government together, Mahathir in a post on X also noted that Daim picked Malays who had no business experience, capital or management skills, because private companies would unlikely give opportunities to inexperienced individuals.
“The private sector!! Will the private rich give contracts to inexperienced, unknown people,” said the 99-year-old who was prime minister twice.
He also said Daim’s decisions were made in a bid to make the New Economic Policy (NEP) a success, or else “disparities would become greater”.
“So if the Government did not, there would be no Malay big businesses to catch up with those who were already rich.”
Even if the NEP was not a “great success, Mahathir added, “at least a few Malays did succeed”.
“To catch up with the rich Malaysians you cannot start by selling tom yam or pisang goreng on the roadside.
“To grow from selling tom yam and pisang goreng to becoming millionaires and catching up will take years,” Mahathir added.
Had Daim not done what he did, growth would be even more “lop-sided” and Malaysia “would not be stable”.
Daim died at the age of 86 at a private hospital here on Nov 13.
He was brought into politics by Mahathir already a wealthy man from banking and real estate, and was made finance minister twice under Mahathir from 1984 to 1991, and again from 1999 to 2001. In 2018, when Mahathir became prime minister again under the Pakatan Harapan govenrment, he made Daim chairman of the Council of Eminent Persons.
Though low-profile and controversial, Daim has been credited as being a pivotal figure in steering the nation through several economic challenges, including the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
In 2021, his name appeared in the leaked Pandora Papers on wealth owned by prominent personalities.
This was used as grounds for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to begin investigations into Daim.
On January 29, Daim claimed trial to charges of failing to comply with a notice to declare his assets to the MACC.
Following his death, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today acquitted him of all charges after prosecutors informed the court that they do not intend to continue criminal proceedings following his death. – November 20, 2024