November 13, 2024
PETALING JAYA – Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin has passed away at age 86.
His lawyer Datuk Dr Gurdial Singh Nijar has confirmed that he passed away on Wednesday (Nov 13) after having been admitted at Assunta Hospital last month.
Daim, whose real name is Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, is expected to be buried after Asar prayers at Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan in Kuala Lumpur.
According to Bernama, Daim, the businessman turned politician served as finance minister between 1984 to 1991 and later between 1998 to 2001.
Daim, from Alor Star, Kedah, also served as a member of Parliament for five terms between 1982 and 2004.
He was first elected Kuala Muda MP in 1982, a year after his long-time ally, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister.
Later, he would contest and win the Merbok seat, defending for Umno and Barisan Nasional for four consecutive terms.
Born to a clerk in the Kedah civil service, Daim was the youngest of 13 siblings.
He received his early education at the Seberang Perak Malay School and later attended Sultan Abdul Hamid College.
Daim completed his upper secondary education at St Xavier’s Institution.
He went on to study law at Lincon’s Inn and was called to the English Bar at the age of 21.
Daim also has a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of California and PhD from Universiti Malaya which he obtained at the age of 81 in 2019.
He received his PhD for his thesis about the New Economic Policy and its effects between 1970 and 2008.
In politics and government, Daim’s meteoric rise was signalled by his appointment as finance minister just two years after he was elected an MP.
His first tenure as finance minister is synonymous with the mobilisation of Malaysia’s private sector, the rehabilitation of public enterprises and active external policies.
Daim made a return to the finance ministry in 1999 after the Asian Financial Crisis.
After leaving office again in 2004, Daim remained in Umno, alongside Dr Mahathir and other leaders from the latter’s era.
In 2018, Daim and other party veterans who supported backed Dr Mahathir in opposing then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, were sacked from Umno.
Daim would go on to appear in Pakatan Harapan rallies ahead of the 14th general election which saw the fall of Najib and the Barisan Nasional government.
Following the change of government, Daim spearheaded a Council of Eminent Persons tasked with advising the new government for its first 100 days.
Last year, Daim was probed in connection to the Pandora Papers, which revealed offshore accounts of leaders from around the world.
He was charged this year for failing to declare his assets.