Daim, the godfather of corporate Malaysia

By KINIBIZ

November 13, 2024 – The death of economic and financial tsar Daim Zainuddin marks the end of an era for one of the most powerful men Malaysia has seen. Not only was he involved in policy he decided many major business and financial issues, many of them controversial.

We reproduce below a series written about him, including one of most detailed and extensive interviews with him ever. It’s probably the large major interview with him before his death.

In this four-part series, KiniBiz looks at former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin and his role in corporate Malaysia. In the first article we examine the extent of the influence of the man widely believed to be the most powerful in corporate Malaysia in his heyday. We move on to track Daim’s journey from a teacher to influential power broker, two-time finance minister and powerful corporate figure. Although he has maintained a low-profile Daim has been active in the global arena focusing on banks. In the third part of this series, we look at Daim’s global banking empire. KiniBiz concludes this series with a look at recent moves by Daim and some of his associates to liquidate some holdings and asks if there is an underlying motive or a common concerted move.