MACC confirms Daim's wife, two sons called to record statements

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that Tun Daim Zainuddin's wife, Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid, her two sons, Muhammad Amin Zainuddin Daim and Muhammad Amir Zainuddin Daim, have been called to record their statements at the MACC Headquarters in Putrajaya on Wednesday (Jan 10) morning.

In the statement on Wednesday, MACC said they were being called to give their statements to ascertain the values of some of the high-value assets, domestic and abroad, held under the companies belonging to them in regard to the investigation on the former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.

A notice was served to Daim under Section 36(1)(a) of the MACC Act 2009 on June 7, 2023, while his family members were served notices under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009.

MACC in a previous statement said investigations commenced in February last year based on information from the Pandora Papers and that investigations into the assets held by Daim were ongoing.

Last month, the MACC seized the family-owned Ilham Tower as part of its investigations.

The MACC previously said investigations carried out against the former finance minister are based on the existing law and information from the Pandora Papers.

"In the case of Daim, the MACC opened an investigation paper in February 2023 based on information from the Pandora Papers," the anti-graft body said.

Following the seizure of the tower, Daim hit out at the MACC investigations on him and his family, claiming that it is nothing short of a political witch-hunt due to the "animus" of the Prime Minister.

In addition, the MACC has also recorded a statement from former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to investigate the usage of the RM700mil funds spent on publicity and promotions during the previous administrations.

On Jan 8, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said a former prime minister and his aides would be called to explain how allocation for promotions and publicity was spent during his administration.

On Jan 2, the MACC confirmed that a probe had been initiated into claims of alleged misuse of RM700mil spent for promotions and publicity by the two previous government administrations between 2020 and 2022.