I would have been worth at least RM50bil if not for politics, says Daim

 

Daim Zainuddin, who was appointed the finance minister in 1984, said he and his family have been left in the dark as to the nature of MACC’s probe.

PETALING JAYA: Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin says he would have accumulated over RM50 billion in liquid assets had he remained in business instead of taking up public office.

Daim and his family members have filed an application for a judicial review to challenge an investigation into their affairs by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

They said they have been left in the dark as to the nature of MACC’s probe.

According to Bernama, Daim had, in his supporting affidavit filed on Jan 10, claimed that he was, before his involvement in politics, “quite a successful and wealthy businessman” with assets and properties acquired through legitimate business activities.

He said that “in or around” 1969, he founded a company known as Syarikat Maluri Sdn Bhd with other stakeholders. The company developed several townships, including Taman Maluri and Taman Bukit Maluri in Kuala Lumpur.

He said he also owned a bank and held controlling or substantial interests in public-listed companies such as SimeUEP (now Sime Darby), Guthrie, TV3, Maybank, Consplant, Cold Storage, and Nestle Malaysia.

Daim, who was appointed the finance minister in 1984, said that before joining the Cabinet, he was told he could transfer all of his investments into a blind trust, to which he agreed.

“However, about a year or so afterwards, the Cabinet (issued) a directive that I had to liquidate my investments in the publicly-listed companies and UMBC,” he said in the affidavit.

“At that point, my liquid assets stood at over RM750 million (US$250 million). If I had put that amount into an S&P 500 index fund in 1984, today’s value would be over RM42 billion.

“If I had stayed in business and done nothing to grow these assets actively, the value of my liquid stock holdings alone would be worth over RM50 billion today.

“That is (the) personal cost (of) my decision to join the government.”

In the affidavit, Daim also questioned the purpose of the investigation, saying MACC has refused to disclose the nature of its investigation into him and his family.

He said he only knew about news reports claiming that the probe was linked to the Pandora Papers, and questioned why other Malaysians included in the data leak were not being investigated.

The Pandora Papers refer to a leak of millions of documents put together by an international consortium of investigative journalists which were made public in October 2021. The documents reveal details of offshore accounts allegedly held by present and past leaders, including presidents, prime ministers, billionaires and prominent businesspeople.

The data leak, the biggest of its kind, involved nearly 12 million documents and other records from offshore service providers who helped set up and manage shell companies around the world.

Apart from Daim, the Malaysians named included deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz; PKR’s Selayang MP William Leong, and the parents of fugitive financier Low Taek Jho, or Jho Low.

In February, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had instructed the authorities to continue their investigation into the individuals named in the Pandora Papers. - FMT