KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today mourned the passing of his longtime ally former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
In a statement issued today, Dr Mahathir expressed immense grief at the loss of his friend who “who fought with me for the nation and religion”.
Dr Mahathir went on to say that Daim should have been “should be praised for his contribution to the struggle”.
He said he hoped God would judge Daim based on justice.
“Give him a place in the afterlife as a fighter for the nation”, the statement read.
Dr Mahathir ended his statement by saying: “I can only pray. We will be together again at a certain time.”
Daim died this morning at the age of 86.
His death was first confirmed by his lawyer Datuk Gurdial Singh Nijar, national news agency Bernama reported.
In a statement later, Daim’s family said he died at 8.21am at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya, adding that funeral prayers will be held at the Federal Territories Mosque at Jalan Duta before burial today.
The former Umno politician and businessman served as Malaysia’s finance minister from 1984 to 1991, and again from 1999 to 2001.
He was known to have played a pivotal role in steering Malaysia through several economic challenges, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Following the first Pakatan Harapan electoral victory in 2018 in which Dr Mahathir was prime minister, Daim chaired the quasi-official Council of Eminent Persons to reform the country’s policies after decades of Barisan Nasional governance.
