BOMBSHELL - INVESTORS SNUB ANWAR'S 'PETTY REVENGE' AGAINST DAIM - WARN OF FUNDS BOYCOTT IF HE DIRTIES THE MARKET WITH PERSONAL ISSUES - OR USES IT TO MASK HIS OWN POLITICAL MOTIVES - INDEED WHO WILL LAST LONGER, THE MARKETS OR ANWAR?
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
KUALA LUMPUR (Politics Now!) - It looks like investors are unimpressed and snubbing embattled Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's high-profile attempts to nail his political foe Daim Zainuddin for alleged corruption - but the paltry charges preferred against Daim may backfire and cause further loss of confidence in Anwar’s weak leadership and ability to lead Malaysia to safer shores.
"It's becoming a joke but with very sinister undertones for Malaysia as a destination for investors. It's like the U.S. suddenly freezing and trying to seize Russia's US$600 billion of sovereign foreign reserves. Which country would dare put their money in U.S. and Western banks anymore? This is why China's BRICS is now so popular and de-dollarization has taken root," a former head of money at a large international bank told Politics Now!.
"I think those advising Anwar have gone cuckoo - they should have told him to his face, you cannot simply act out of personal revenge when you are PM or president of a country. It's your country that will suffer. In Daim's case, after all the hype and whispering campaigns - where are the money trails, where are the direct deals awarded without open tender, where are the illicit commissions skimmed from government contracts, where are the billion-ringgit donations from Arab princes like in Najib's case or the charitable organizations set up to collect what may be bribes from other business people out to get deals like in Zahid's case? Where are the exposes and testimonies from aides and ex-ministers like in Rosmah's solar panels case?"
DAIM'S SCALP IN EXCHANGE FOR ZAHID & NAJIB'S FREEDOM?
There is also much speculation that apart from satisfying his thirst for vengeance against Daim, the politically shaky Anwar was trying to kill two birds with one stone - get even with the man he blames for his first sodomy conviction and at the same time use the publicity to deflect attention from his own messes and political miscalculations.
These would include the unceasing plunge in the value of the ringgit, the all-round and unprecedented jump in prices of essential goods and costs of living, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi's controversial discharge from an ongoing corruption case and even the latest rumblings - Anwar's tacit nod to a royal pardon releasing ex-prime minister Najib Razak from a 12-year jail term for corruption linked to the multi-billion ringgit 1MDB debacle.
Daim, a former finance minister who had twice rescued Malaysia from financial crisis, the second of which was wrought by Anwar himself amid the 1997 Asian financial crisis, was charged in court a day ago for failing to declare 71 assets to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). He has pleaded not guilty and urged Malaysians to stand up against Anwar.
“A wolf in sheep’s clothing who cries reforms, but does the polar opposite," was how Daim described Anwar in a no-holds-barred press conference.
“I am not too bothered about my fate now. Let Anwar throw everything at me, but I fear for the fate of my country."
MACC RUSHES TO DAMAGE CONTROL PETTY REVENGE ACCUSATIONS
Today, as if to quell the growing public ridicule for Anwar and his less than ethical use of enforcement agencies to corner his political foes, the MACC has rushed to announce it is still pursuing several other investigations against Daim. The latest display of political motive is bound to stir up another storm of criticism against Azam Baki, the chief of the MACC who himself was embroiled in a shares scandal reeking of insider trading and corruption.
“After yesterday’s charge, which was made under Section 36(1) of the MACC Act, our investigations into Daim continue for other cases,” Malaysiakini reported Azam as telling Scoop.
Daim, a lawyer by training and already a self-made millionaire before joining politics, was so successful he was ready to retire in 1977, when he caught the eye of ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and was roped into Umno. But he never really liked the limelight and was quick to resign as finance minister in 2001, two years after he was reappointed finance minister for the second time to get the economy off the ground following Anwar's ringgit debacle during Asian financial crisis. .
If found guilty the 85-year-old Daim faces a fine not exceeding RM100,000 or a jail term not exceeding five years.
INVESTORS SNUB ANWAR
Meanwhile, shares investors brushed off his court appearance and the MACC's threat of more action. Shares in Avillion Bhd, of which his family is a substantial shareholder, saw its price decline by just 0.05 sen, or 8.3%, to 5.5 sen in early trading today.
Avillion is one of the 23 companies listed among the 71 assets the MACC has accused Daim of failing to declare. Avillion is involved in the tourism industry, hotels and properties in Malaysia as well as abroad.
According to a Berita Harian report today, the Avillion share price peaked at 78.5 sen in 2021 before declining to an all-time low of three sen on March 19, 2020.
Among the other companies that also appeared in court documents relating to the charge against Daim are Ibu Kota Developments Sdn Bhd, Maya Seni Holdings Sdn Bhd, Menara Ampang Sdn Bhd, Dream Cruiser Sdn Bhd, Landbelt Corporation Sdn Bhd, Avillion Hotel Group, Admiral Cove Development Sdn Bhd and Avillion Hotels International Sdn Bhd.
The largest shareholder of Avillion is Daim’s son Dani Abdul Daim who holds a 21.82% stake through Ibu Kota Developments and Daza Holdings Sdn Bhd, the Berita Harian report said.
"If you go through the list, you will find that most of Daim's companies are not public listed but privately-held. The onus of record-keeping are different because private firms are not using Tom, Dick and Harry's money but their own or funded privately. So good luck to Azam Baki but he should know after his own insider trading scandal," the ex-banker told Politics Now!
Written by Stan Lee, Politics Now!
Politics Now!
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