I want him there - Dr M adamant Daim remains

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has no intentions of dismissing the services of the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP), especially its chairperson Daim Zainuddin.

"No, no, no, he (Daim) says it is 100 days. I never mentioned any 100 days. I want him to be there," he told a press conference in Beijing today.

Mahathir was responding to Daim's statement yesterday that the CEP's 100-day mandate is officially over.

The prime minister, however, said his administration is still in dire need of Daim's expertise and his access to information.

"I already have four agencies looking into 1MDB and other things but Daim has access to a lot of information, somehow. I think it is useful for him to continue his job. I have not dismissed him.

"Besides, I have not paid him a single cent (but) he is working 24 hours a day," he added.

Last week, Mahathir similarly said that the CEP’s services were “still needed” and thus had no plans to end its tenure. 

In its first 100 days, the council held briefings with more than 350 individuals from more than 200 organisations, including regulatory enforcement agencies, bankers, trade associations, chambers of commerce, corporations, SMEs and consumers.

These inputs have since been compiled into a report which will be presented to Mahathir when he returns from his trip to China.

Besides Daim, the other members of the CEP are former Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas president and CEO Mohd Hassan Marican, economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram and tycoon Robert Kuok.  -Mkini