KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) froze assets abroad belonging to Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid and her family, worth over RM750 million, to prevent them from being disposed of, said MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
According to Berita Harian, the assets are believed to form part of the late former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin’s RM2 billion estate, which the commission is seeking to forfeit for allegedly being undeclared.
“We have filed a court application for a freezing order on the overseas assets and will continue our investigations into the accounts that have been seized.
“We needed to act to prevent the assets from being disposed of. If no freezing order is obtained, there’s a high possibility that the properties suspected of being undeclared would be liquidated,” Azam said.
On June 3, the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed MACC’s application to freeze seven properties and a bank account owned by Na’imah and her family, collectively valued at £132 million (RM758.2 million). The frozen assets include three luxury residences and two commercial buildings in London.
The order was granted by Judge Azhar Abdul Hamid following an ex-parte application filed by MACC.
Investigations found that the moveable and immoveable assets are believed to be linked to offences under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFPUAA).
MACC’s application was made under Section 53 of the same Act, in relation to offences under Section 4(1).
However, Na’imah issued a statement today saying she intends to challenge the court’s decision, claiming she was not informed about the proceedings and only learned about the freeze through media reports.
Describing the situation as a “shocking violation of the most basic legal norms,” she alleged the MACC had obtained the ex-parte order in secret.
She said she was not given the opportunity to present her case in court.
“No reasonable person would say this is consistent with justice or the principles of natural justice. They obtained the order by ambush.
“In fact, there is no provision in the law that allows such an ex-parte application. And now they are hiding behind a cloak of legality to justify what is clearly a form of theft by a government institution,” she said. – June 4, 2025.