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Joseph Sipalan

Hadi Azmi

Powerful Malaysian tycoon and politician Daim Zainuddin died on Wednesday morning at the age of 86 after a prolonged stay in hospital.
His final years were spent in a wheelchair and under the scrutiny of anti-corruption investigators, who seized assets and charged him with a failure to disclose his vast wealth.
Daim’s family confirmed his death in a statement. He had been receiving treatment at the Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya, just outside Kuala Lumpur.
Daim had been released on bail after he and his wife, Naimah Khalid, were implicated in a high-profile corruption crackdown that they claimed was politically motivated – targeting rivals of current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“I have lost a friend who has been with me fighting for the people, country and religion. I am beside myself in grief,” said two-time former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in a statement.
“At the end of his life, he was scorned without reason … because of revenge.”
Anwar, who is currently travelling to the Apec summit, expressed his condolences on social media after arriving in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday.
“The government recognises his service and contributions to the country, particularly during his time as Minister of Finance,” Anwar said.
A key ally of Mahathir, Daim served as finance minister from 1984 to 1991 and again from 1999 to 2001. Together, they oversaw Malaysia’s economic boom during the 1980s, a period critics argue was characterised by rampant crony capitalism that enriched Mahathir’s close associates.

Both Daim and Mahathir were born in Alor Setar, the capital of northern Kedah state.
Daim’s wealth was extensive – he claimed in January that his liquid assets alone would have been worth more than 50 billion ringgit (US$11.6 billion) had he remained in business.
A trained lawyer, he pivoted to business in the late 1960s, initially focusing on food production before diversifying into real estate, banking, media, and logistics.
He later divested much of his publicly-known business holdings as he advanced in politics under Mahathir’s guidance.
However, his fortunes took a turn when anti-corruption authorities seized the family’s prized Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur’s central business district as part of their investigations.
In January, Daim and his wife were separately charged in court as part of a high-profile corruption crackdown.
He faced charges of failing to declare his assets, including a fleet of high-end cars, 38 companies, and 25 properties or parcels of land. Prosecutors alleged that his asset declarations omitted significant holdings.
Daim denied these allegations, framing them as a political vendetta orchestrated by Anwar, who himself had been imprisoned under Mahathir’s regime on sodomy charges – an accusation he vehemently denied.
In a public statement released by his lawyers, Daim urged Malaysians to “stand up against Anwar and his regime”, claiming that “honesty, integrity and good governance have gone out the window” as political institutions were weaponised against political opponents. “Anwar should know that all this is not without repercussions,” he said in the statement.
Daim had attempted to read his statement to the media outside the court but struggled to finish, his declining health evident as he faced the weight of his legal battles.
His wife Naimah, 65, was separately charged in January with a similar offence of failing to declare her assets. She pleaded not guilty and was released on bail of 250,000 ringgit (US$58,140).
In the wake of Daim’s death, some government leaders extended their condolences to his family, including Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil who posted a monochrome selfie with the former minister.
“Tun Daim Zainuddin was a leader who had contributed much to Malaysia,” Interior Minister Saiffudin Nasution Ismail said in a post on X.


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Malaysia

Malaysia’s former finance minister Daim Zainuddin dies at 86

Daim Zainuddin, then a Malaysian government adviser, arrives at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing in 2018. Photo: AFP

Daim Zainuddin arrives at court in Kuala Lumpur in January before being charged with failing to declare assets. Photo: EPA-EFE

Malaysians split over home detention plan for prisoners – leniency gone too far?

The entrance of Sungai Buloh Prison, in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Malaysian former Prime Minister Najib Razak arrive at the Kuala Lumpur high court complex on October 30. Photo: AP

Malaysia’s lower house parliament building in Kuala Lumpur. The home detention law was discussed in parliament last month. Photo: AP

Daim Zainuddin’s wife steps into spotlight amid Malaysia’s corruption probe against couple

Wife of ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin, Naimah Khalid, speaks to the media after a court session in Kuala Lumpur in January. Photo: EPA-EFE

Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin arrives at a court in Kuala Lumpur in January. Photo: EPA-EFE

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at a business event in Kuala Lumpur on October 1. Photo: AFP

Ex-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at a news conference in Putrajaya in January. Photo: AP

Malaysia ex-minister Daim Zainuddin slams PM Anwar Ibrahim for ‘political witch-hunt’ over corruption probe

Malaysia’s then finance minister Daim Zainuddin at a conference in Kuala Lumpur in 2001. Photo: AP

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the Asean summit in Jakarta on September 7, 2023. Anwar has dismissed accusations that the corruption investigation against ex-minister Daim Zainuddin was “a conspiracy”. Photo: AP

Malaysia’s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on November 1. Mahathir has made snide remarks on the corruption investigation against his ally Daim Zainuddin. Photo: Bloomberg

What is behind Malaysia’s corruption crackdown that’s ensnared Daim Zainuddin, former aide of Mahathir Mohamad?

Malaysia’s Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin in parliament in 2001. File photo: AFP

Naimah Khalid, wife of ex-finance minister Daim Zainuddin, speaks to the media after a court session in Kuala Lumpur, on January 23. Photo: EPA-EFE  

Malaysian Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur on April 7, 2001. Photo: AFP 

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. His fallout with former mentor Mahathir Mohamad triggered a decades-long feud that continues to define politics in the nation. Photo: AP 

Mirzan Mahathir pictured on October 27, 2019. Photo: AFP

This Week in Asia

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Asia

Southeast Asia

The tycoon and key ally of ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad had spent his final years under scrutiny from anti-corruption investigators


The tycoon and key ally of ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad had spent his final years under scrutiny from anti-corruption investigators.


Malaysian politics

Obituaries

Mahathir Mohamad