KUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian court has acquitted former finance minister Daim Zainuddin from failing to declare his assets, a week after his death.
Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi made the order of acquittal under Section 254(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code after the prosecution said they do not wish to pursue the case.
“The court extends its condolences to the family of the deceased. May his soul be placed within the righteous,” The Star reported her as saying on Nov 20.
Tun Daim died on Nov 13 at the age of 86, after being admitted in October to Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya following a stroke.
However, Mr Daim’s counsel Gurdial Singh Nijar on Nov 20 said the former minister had wanted the case to continue.
Datuk Gurdial said Mr Daim’s dying wish was to clear his name, reported financial weekly The Edge Malaysia.
His family has also wanted the case to proceed.
His widow, Na’imah Abdul Khalid, 66, on Nov 19 has urged prosecutors to continue with the case for the defence team to clear Mr Daim’s name in court.
“Daim looked forward to his day in court and had no doubt that he would be finally acquitted,” she said.
Mr Daim, whose full name was Che Abdul Daim Zainuddin, was a close ally of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, and had served two stints as the country’s finance minister in the latter’s Cabinet from 1984 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001.
In 2023, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission started investigating Mr Daim and his wife Na’imah Abdul Khalid.
He was alleged to have failed to declare his assets, which comprised 38 companies and 25 properties in Kuala Lumpur and five Malaysian states, as well as a bank account and seven luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce.
Mr Daim had said in December that the investigations were politically motivated.
The anti-graft body said the probe was linked to the release of the Pandora Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which revealed offshore accounts of present and past leaders from around the world.
Mr Daim was charged on Jan 29, 2024.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail at RM280,000 (S$84,200) after his lawyer told the court that he is “not going anywhere” owing to his health condition.
