A woman walks by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in Putrajaya on Jan 3, 2024. KUALA LUMPUR: Amid Malaysia’s high-profile raids in recent months by its anti-graft busters as part of the country’s most extensive crackdown on corporate corruption, one has flown under the radar but stirred disquiet within the country’s clubby corporate and banking circles.
“People are using the word ‘vendetta’ and the pattern emerging is that those close to former senior politicians are becoming targeted by the new government, and it does not matter how far it goes back,” said a chief executive of a state-controlled local commercial bank, who declined to be named. He noted palpable nervousness among many of his corporate clients over the ongoing crackdown.
According to the MACC sources, Protasco was a huge beneficiary of road maintenance contracts from the government, and is tied to, a high-end office and residential building in the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s financial district belonging to Daim’s family. The MACC sources declined to elaborate. Protasco did not respond to a request for comment.
Dr Ong Kian Ming, a former international trade and industry deputy minister, told CNA that this should include making the MACC more independent, by ensuring the appointment of its chief is done at the recommendation of parliament or a commission of well-respected figures. This became more apparent during Malaysia’s political upheaval following the May 2018 general election, which saw the ruling Barisan Nasional toppled from its 60-year reign and, subsequently, power changing hands three times.
The government also froze over RM300 million in Bersatu’s bank accounts in several financial institutions that were amassed during the party’s leadership of government for 17 months. But in less than two years, Malaysia’s political and economic uncertainties deepen with the collapse of the Mahathir administration. Political power changes hands thrice before a unity government led by Mr Anwar takes control following the inconclusive November 2022 general election, which sees Dr Mahathir lose his seat in a shock defeat.
The controversial deal soured relations between Mr Anwar, who was finance minister at the time, and his predecessor Daim, who controlled UMNO’s business interests as the party’s treasurer through his business nominees. While Dr Mahathir was bent on using state funds to protect troubled businessmen that his government had entrusted to take on quasi-official projects under the country’s privatisation programme, Mr Anwar favoured a more free-market approach to deal with the country’s economic woes and advocated a policy of high interest rates to attract foreign funds to prop up the ringgit that had fallen sharply in value.
Daim Zainuddin is seen in a wheelchair at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex on Jan 29, 2024. Daim and his family have also failed in multiple bids to start judicial review proceedings over MACC's probe into their financial affairs, Free Malaysia Today reported. On May 9, the Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal against the High Court’s rejection of their application.
Another Daim-linked businessman in the MACC dragnet is Robert Tan Hua Choon, who is the controlling shareholder of privately held Spanco that offered vehicle fleet management services to the government from 1993 to 2019. He was assaulted in prison and appeared in public with a black eye, inflicted by Malaysia’s then-police chief. Photos of Mr Anwar with a black eye became synonymous with his supporters’ battle cry of “reformasi”, or reforms.
Daim’s wife Nai’mah accused Mr Anwar of pursuing political revenge, warning the premier that power is “fleeting”. The ground sentiment, she said, is that MACC’s investigations “suddenly” switched gears to focus on people who were Mr Anwar’s rivals or close to them, whereas probes into more recent issues seem to have stalled.
A public governance, procurement and finance report revealed that Mr Ahmad Zahid, who was defence minister at the time, was involved in the procurement process. Member of Parliament for Muar Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman feels the Anwar administration, like the Muhyiddin government, is using the MACC to go after political rivals.Syed Saddiq claims he was sacked from Bersatu in 2020 because he did not back the Muhyiddin-led government. He was charged with the offences when Muhyiddin was premier.