KUALA LUMPUR: In the business and political landscape, Tun Daim Zainuddin was a towering figure, an enigma of his time.
A soft-spoken man, he did not covet the limelight.
During Malaysia's push for industrialisation in the 1980s and 1990s, Daim, was in the background of prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's administration, helping to formulate policies that drove the growth which took Malaysia out of an agrarian economy into industrialisation.
He was, without doubt, one of the key architects of Malaysia's economic policy.
On March 1, 2023, a few of us from this newspaper met Daim at his office in Menara Ilham, Kuala Lumpur, following his call for a chat. Daim looked frail, but all fired up at the same time when he was brought into the room in a wheelchair.
His voice was weak and had to be amplified using a headset that was hooked up to a speaker.
He had had his left eye removed in a surgery some time back, but none of this was public knowledge.
It was only when his legal troubles with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) began that the public knew.
The sit-down with Daim lasted well over two hours, centring first on MACC's radar that had just began to focus on him. He had requested that no photographs be taken, and that part of the "chat" not be published "until the time is right".
Daim had been one of Malaysia's most highly accomplished technocratic ministers. Twice, he helped pull Malaysia from the brink of economic disaster — in 1985-1986, and again in 1998. However, he received little recognition for his efforts.
Conventional wisdom and the facts seem far apart when it came to Daim.
CHARITY WORK
Philanthropy was a large part of his life. Daim used his considerable wealth to support charities.
He had paid for the construction of at least four mosques in Kedah.
He donated his ministerial and parliamentary salaries to charity, something he did during both stints as finance minister.
He also established Yayasan Pok Rafeah, a charitable foundation named after his late mother.
There is another foundation, Yayasan Haji Zainuddin, named after his late father.
Both were funded by Daim and give out scholarships and loans to poor students, as well as medical assistance and other aid to the poor.
"I have three foundations — one in the name of my father, and another named after my mother. I built four mosques in Kedah and helped ex-communists in Southern Thailand.
"In Langkawi, I have my charity foundation named Yayasan Pok Rafeah. Some people like to announce their contributions, I don't.
"I have left almost everything to charity. I don't need anything. I'm not young any more. I am blind, and I cannot even walk properly.
"I was from the village and then I am here. It goes to prove that even then a Malay can be successful in KL."
