PETALING JAYA: Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin (pic) has passed away at the age of 86 after being hospitalised for a stroke last month.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed his condolences to Daim’s family following his passing.
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He said the government valued the contributions and services of Daim to the nation, particularly during his tenure as finance minister.
“Received the news of Tun Daim Zainuddin’s passing upon arriving in Lima, Peru. My condolences to his family,” he wrote in a Facebook post. Anwar is in the South American country to attend the 31st Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.
Government spokesman and Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil sent his condolences to the family of Daim for their loss.
Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said that Daim’s legacy as finance minister is “priceless”.
“His contributions are an inspiration to future generations. May his soul be blessed and placed with the righteous,” he added.
Na’imah pouring rosewater on the late Daim’s grave at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he had lost “a friend who fought alongside me for the country and religion”.
“I am indescribably sad,” the former prime minister said in a statement. Daim, who was a close confidant of Dr Mahathir, was finance minister during the elder statesman’s first tenure as prime minister.
Perikatan Nasional chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the second tenure of Daim as finance minister in 1999 saw rapid development of the economy.
“Daim’s service to the country in managing the economy and steering the country safely out of the Asian financial crisis then should be remembered in the historical annals of Malaysia,” he added.
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Muhyiddin was youth and sports minister when Daim was appointed as finance minister for the second time in 1999 in Dr Mahathir’s government. They were both in Umno then.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said that Daim’s demise marks the loss of a great Malaysian economic architect.
“We have lost not only a great leader but also one of the main architects of the Malaysian economy when (the country) was an Asian tiger.
“He was a man who had a vision for Malaysian politics and economy. We will definitely miss his words of wisdom.”
Daim was buried at the Bukit Kiara Muslim Cemetery yesterday evening.
Daim’s wife, Toh Puan Na’imah Khalid and their children could not hold back tears when they were approached by relatives.
“It’s difficult for me to say much now. Thank you for coming and supporting,” she told reporters briefly after the funeral.
Daim’s brother-in-law, Radhi Khalid, described him as a soft spoken but intelligent man.
“He was a real philanthropist and did a lot of welfare work. While he didn’t talk much, when he did, he had his points.
“He was an intelligent and bright person. His actions always spoke louder than words,” he said.Many people, including VIPs, were at Daim’s residence earlier at Bukit Tunku to pay their respects to his family members.
The youngest of 13 children to a government clerk father and a housewife mother, Daim, was born Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin on April 29, 1938 in Derga, Alor Setar.
He began his early education at Sekolah Melayu Seberang Perak before continuing his secondary studies at Sultan Abdul Hamid College (KSAH), Kedah and St Xavier’s Institute, Penang. He returned to KSAH to teach and later went on to graduate with a law degree from Lincoln’s Inn.
He worked in the legal field in Kota Baru before entering the government service as a magistrate in Johor and later served as a deputy public prosecutor in Perak.
Daim worked at the law firm Allen and Gledhill before founding his own firm Daim, Gamany & Co.
He then disposed of his law firm to go into business ventures, which initially failed.
However, his acumen for business later led him into politics.
