KUALA LUMPUR – Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin is seeking to transfer his asset declaration case to another sessions court here to avoid possible prejudice as judge Azura Alwi is also presiding over a similar case involving his wife Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid.
Daim, 86, filed the application on Tuesday, citing possible injustice and prejudice as Na’imah is being tried in the same court.
Azura then ordered the prosecution and defence to submit their written affidavits before July 4.
The court will hear the application on July 4.
Deputy public prosecutor Law Chin How appeared for the prosecution while lawyers M. Puravalen and Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid represented Daim.
Both Daim and Na’imah have been charged on January 29 and 23 respectively for allegedly refusing to declare their assets.
His undeclared assets include 38 companies, seven luxury vehicles such as a Rolls Royce Royce 2 Axle Rigid Body, three Mercedes-Benz, a Jaguar XJS HE, an Austin Morris Austin and a Ford Prefect, as well as 25 properties which include condominium units, houses and hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan and Kedah.
Daim is charged with failing to declare his assets by deliberately giving a written statement under oath that did not comply with the terms of a notice dated November 8, 2023, and sent to him by a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer with the rank of commissioner on November 14, 2023.
The charge, framed under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009, provides for a maximum prison sentence of five years and a fine of up to RM100,000, if convicted.
Daim, who had two spells as finance minister – from 1984 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001 – had been given five extensions by MACC to declare his assets since the first notice on June 7 last year.
The November 14 date in the charge sheet was the fifth and last extension for him to declare his assets. Subsequently, his commercial building, Ilham Tower, was seized by MACC in December.
MACC’s investigation into the powerful ally of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad began in February last year, over information linked to his naming in the Pandora Papers published in 2021.
On January 23, Na’imah, 67, was also charged in the Kuala Lumpur sessions court for similarly failing to comply with a notice to declare 12 properties, including Ilham Tower and several properties in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Both have claimed trial. – May 9, 2024