Analysis: Malaysia PM Anwar’s crackdown on ex-financial czar Daim could signal a wider dragnet to come

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WHO IS DAIM?

Intensely private and taciturn, Mr Daim, whose business career stretches back to the late 1960s, has amassed a fortune through canny networking, patronage and exploitation of Malaysia’s often-opaque commercial world where business and politics intertwine.  

At 85 years of age, the elfin lawyer-turned-businessmen is frail. 

He regularly uses the wheel-chair, wears a mask at all times and uses a voice amplifier and speaks through a wireless microphone headset.

Mr Daim also keeps a tight schedule of meetings three days a week, according to associates, meeting politicians and businessmen apart from his managers who operate his extensive business holdings, with equity stakes in property development, hotels, and banking. 

His enduring influence has been one of the few constants in Malaysia’s turbulent politics. 

During the first two decades of the Mahathir era that began in 1981, Mr Daim played the role of finance minister, informal advisor and purse-keeper of UMNO and was also the most enthusiastic architect of the Malaysian economic model.

It featured a brand of command capitalism where the government awarded economic opportunities in the form of infrastructure contracts, licences and lucrative concessions to operate toll networks and power-generation projects to politically well-connected businessmen who today control large swathes of the economy.

The big beneficiaries of economic privileges closely associated with Dr Mahathir are Mr Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary of the DRB-Hicom Group, Mr Vincent Tan Chee Yioun of the Berjaya conglomerate and Mr Ananda Krishna, who controls a sprawling empire in with a leading presence in multi-media and telecommunications.

While building his own wealth through business proxies, such as businessman Nasir Ali, and businesswomen Lutfiah Ismail and Josephine Premala Sivaratnam, who are close associates of his third wife Na’ imah Abdul Khalid, Mr Daim concentrated on the creation of a new generation of ethnic Malay businessmen. 

Through the Mahathir government’s privatisation of state enterprises and major infrastructure projects, Mr Daim, who served as UMNO treasurer between 1984 and 2001, wielded his role as finance minister with the expansion of UMNO business interests. 

His business proxies included Mr Halim, who was executive chairman of the once UMNO-owned publicly listed conglomerate Renong Bhd, as well as Mr Tajudin Ramli, who was awarded the country’s first private telecommunications licence and later acquired a controlling stake in the national carrier Malaysian Airlines Bhd, or MAS.

BEHIND DAIM’S TROUBLES 

So, what is behind Mr Daim’s current woes?

Weeks after the anti-graft probe began in late May, the MACC released a statement that the agency was gathering information into the “alleged embezzlement of state funds amounting to an estimated RM2.3 billion”. 

The agency added that it had frozen bank accounts with funds amounting to RM39 million (US$8.45m) belonging to an unidentified former senior minister and two businessmen, who were also not identified. It gave no other details apart from the investigations relating to anti-money laundering violations.

Government officials and anti-graft investigators directly involved in the probe told CNA that the alleged embezzlement of state funds was a direct reference to the RM2.3-billion-ringgit transaction that took place in November 1997 involving Renong and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) that were already locked in a complex set of cross holdings.

The three unnamed personalities are believed to refer to Mr Daim, who served as finance minister between 1984 and 1991; Mr Halim, his long-time business protégé who at the time was a controlling shareholder of both Renong and UEM; and Mr Abdul Rashid Manaf, a prominent Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer who handled all of UMNO’s corporate affairs. 

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Analysis: Malaysia PM Anwar’s crackdown on ex-financial tsar Daim could signal a wider dragnet to come

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In: Asia

WHO IS DAIM?

Intensely private and taciturn, Mr Daim, whose business career stretches back to the late 1960s, has amassed a fortune through canny networking, patronage and exploitation of Malaysia’s often-opaque commercial world where business and politics intertwine.  

At 85 years of age, the elfin lawyer-turned-businessmen is frail. 

He regularly uses the wheelchair, wears a mask at all times, uses a voice amplifier and speaks through a wireless microphone headset.

Mr Daim also keeps a tight schedule of meetings three days a week, according to associates, meeting politicians and businessmen apart from his managers who operate his extensive business holdings, with equity stakes in property development, hotels, and banking. 

His enduring influence has been one of the few constants in Malaysia’s turbulent politics. 

During the first two decades of the Mahathir era that began in 1981, Mr Daim played the role of finance minister, informal advisor and purse-keeper of UMNO and was also the most enthusiastic architect of the Malaysian economic model.

It featured a brand of command capitalism where the government awarded economic opportunities in the form of infrastructure contracts, licences and lucrative concessions to operate toll networks and power-generation projects to politically well-connected businessmen who today control large swathes of the economy.

The big beneficiaries of economic privileges closely associated with Dr Mahathir are Mr Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary of the DRB-Hicom Group, Mr Vincent Tan Chee Yioun of the Berjaya conglomerate and Mr Ananda Krishna, who controls a sprawling empire with a leading presence in multi-media and telecommunications.

While building his own wealth through business proxies, such as businessman Nasir Ali, and businesswomen Lutfiah Ismail and Josephine Premala Sivaratnam, who are close associates of his third wife Na’ imah Abdul Khalid, Mr Daim concentrated on the creation of a new generation of ethnic Malay businessmen. 

Through the Mahathir government’s privatisation of state enterprises and major infrastructure projects, Mr Daim, who served as UMNO treasurer between 1984 and 2001, wielded his role as finance minister with the expansion of UMNO business interests. 

His business proxies included Mr Halim, who was executive chairman of the once UMNO-owned publicly listed conglomerate Renong Bhd, as well as Mr Tajudin Ramli, who was awarded the country’s first private telecommunications licence and later acquired a controlling stake in the national carrier Malaysian Airlines Bhd, or MAS.

BEHIND DAIM’S TROUBLES 

So, what is behind Mr Daim’s current woes?

Weeks after the anti-graft probe began in late May, the MACC released a statement that the agency was gathering information into the “alleged embezzlement of state funds amounting to an estimated RM2.3 billion”. 

The agency added that it had frozen bank accounts with funds amounting to RM39 million (US$8.45m) belonging to an unidentified former senior minister and two businessmen, who were also not identified. It gave no other details apart from the investigations relating to anti-money laundering violations.

Government officials and anti-graft investigators directly involved in the probe told CNA that the alleged embezzlement of state funds was a direct reference to the RM2.3-billion-ringgit transaction that took place in November 1997 involving Renong and United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) that were already locked in a complex set of cross holdings.

The three unnamed personalities are believed to refer to Mr Daim, who served as finance minister between 1984 and 1991; Mr Halim, his long-time business protégé who at the time was a controlling shareholder of both Renong and UEM; and Mr Abdul Rashid Manaf, a prominent Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer who handled all of UMNO’s corporate affairs. 

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Foreign doctor who moonlighted as locum, earning almost S$331,500, fined by disciplinary tribunal

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SINGAPORE: A foreign doctor who moonlighted as a locum for about two-and-a-half years, earning almost S$331,500 (US$251,600) from this illegal side job, has been handed a fine of S$50,000 by the Singapore Medical Council’s (SMC’s) disciplinary tribunal.

Dr Queck Kian Kheng had been separately fined S$70,000 in June 2021 by a district court for flouting the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act by working as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass.

The latest fine was for one count of improper conduct that brought disrepute to the medical profession, as detailed in grounds of decision published on SMC’s website on Thursday (Dec 28).

According to CNA’s checks on the Ministry of Health’s search engine for registered healthcare professionals in Singapore, Dr Queck currently specialises in neurology at the KK Queck Neurology Centre at Mount Alvernia Hospital. 

While his native country was not revealed in the grounds of decision, he is listed on the MOH search engine as obtaining his doctor of medicine from the National University of Malaysia in 2009.

According to the SMC disciplinary tribunal’s grounds of decision, Dr Queck held an employment pass as an associate consultant with Singapore Health Services at the time of the offences.

However, he did not have a valid work pass to be engaged as a doctor at various medical clinics. 

Despite holding only a specific employment pass that allowed him to work for Singapore Health Services, Dr Queck provided locum services at 25 medical clinics on 511 occasions between November 2016 and May 2019.

A locum is a stand-in doctor.

Dr Queck earned an additional income of about S$331,443.40 from the illegal side job as a locum over the period of about two-and-a-half years.

He faced three charges in the State Courts for being a self-employed foreigner engaged as a doctor without a valid work pass and was sentenced to a fine of S$70,000 in June 2021.

After the court conviction, SMC brought a charge against him under the Medical Registration Act for an improper act or conduct which brings disrepute to the medical profession.

The SMC asked for a fine of S$50,000, while Dr Queck’s lawyers agreed on a fine but left the quantum to the tribunal.

SMC agreed that there was no direct evidence of premeditation or intentional conduct by Dr Queck.

MITIGATION

In mitigation, Dr Queck’s lawyers said he had cooperated with investigations and voluntarily disclosed all his locum engagements.

Dr Alex Cheng and Mr Eric Tin from Donaldson & Burkinshaw law firm added that Dr Queck’s commission of the offences “was not primarily profit-motivated, but was more to improve his clinical skills and broaden his medical knowledge during his free time”.

They said the offences had been committed due to Dr Queck’s “honest omission and inadvertence to check whether he could engage in locum practice as a self-employed foreigner without a valid work pass”.

The lawyers added that Queck took remedial steps once he knew of the error, by ceasing locum practice immediately and taking steps to apply for permanent residence. He is now a Singapore permanent resident.

The disciplinary tribunal said it was of the view that the fact the breaches took place over such a prolonged period pushed Dr Queck’s conduct “beyond mere inadvertence and more towards indifference”.

While the tribunal noted Dr Queck’s contributions to the community through free medical services, it added that this contrasts with the additional income he earned from his illegal employment.

While Dr Queck had claimed that his locum practice was to “further develop his diagnostic and treatment skills which could also in turn benefit patients that he saw in the hospital”, the tribunal questioned why Dr Queck had not volunteered his medical services instead.

However, the tribunal found the SMC’s proposed fine of S$50,000 to be reasonable and imposed it on Dr Queck, keeping in mind he had already been fined S$70,000 by the State Courts among other factors.

The tribunal also ordered that Dr Queck be censured, submit a written undertaking to SMC that he would not engage in such conduct again and to pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings including the costs of SMC’s counsel.

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Fears of losing livelihoods mount as Manila’s jeepney drivers protest phase-out of iconic vehicles

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The subsidy goes straight to the cooperative as capital shares of the jeepney owner, who transitions from being a small enterprise owner to a cooperative investor. 

Some jeepney owners who drive their own vehicles can also receive additional daily pay in a cooperative by becoming the driver of a modern jeepney unit.

Pandacan Transport Cooperative chairman Edmundo Cadavona told CNA a collective arrangement is better for jeepney operators, as they no longer need to worry about maintaining their vehicles.

“The new vehicles are safe, comfortable, air-conditioned and produce less emissions with their Euro 4 engines,” Mr Cadavona said.

TRANSITIONING TO THE FORMAL SECTOR

Drivers who do not own jeepneys are hired by cooperatives with fixed daily salaries, as opposed to the profit-sharing scheme of traditional jeepneys, essentially transitioning them to the formal economy.

The cooperative also remits directly to the state each driver’s monthly premiums for their social security and state health insurance. The amount is paid by employers and salary deductions.

However, many traditional jeepney drivers who live hand to mouth remain sceptical, as they feel the amount of take-home pay is better under the traditional scheme.

The social security benefits of a traditional jeepney driver are paid voluntarily, if at all, with many retiring with no pension.

Others in the informal economy who make a living through the popular form of transportation are similarly worried. These include workers who call out for passengers, known as “barkers”, or who help to park the vehicles, known as “starters”.

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Review of HIV disclosure law to take 'latest scientific evidence' into account: MOH

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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is conducting a review of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disclosure law and will take the “latest scientific evidence into account”.

This is to ensure continued relevance and alignment with public health policy goals, the ministry said in response to CNA’s queries on Wednesday (Dec 27).

MOH said that it is conducting a review of the Infectious Diseases Act following the White Paper on Singapore’s Response to COVID-19 and will take the latest scientific evidence into account when reviewing the sections on HIV.

The ministry has been monitoring medical and scientific advances on the effectiveness of HIV treatment in suppressing the virus.

“Studies show that people living with HIV who have been compliant with treatment and have maintained a stable undetectable viral load have practically no risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners,” MOH said.

Singapore currently requires a person living with HIV to inform their partner of the risk of contracting HIV infection before sexual activity takes place.

This current requirement accords “choice and protection” to the partner, who can decide whether to engage in sexual activity and to take precautions if so, such as through the use of condoms, thereby reducing the risk of spreading HIV, the ministry said.

Information relating to the identities of those living with HIV continues to be protected under the Infectious Diseases Act, MOH added.  

However, their identities can be disclosed if they are charged in court, as long as it does not lead to the identification of any victims or witnesses. 

Six people have been convicted for offences under the Infectious Diseases Act since 2019, said the ministry. 

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Singaporean missing off Desaru in Malaysia after being swept by waves

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SINGAPORE: A search and rescue operation is underway for a Singaporean man who went missing off Malaysia’s coast of Desaru on Wednesday (Dec 27).

According to Malaysian media, the 49-year-old man and his son were hit by waves while they were in the water off The Westin Desaru Coast Resort.

The son, 16, was rescued by members of the public and taken to Kota Tinggi Hospital.

The operations commander of Penawar Fire and Rescue Department said a red flag had been raised at the beach to warn visitors against water activities due to rough seas.

“A red flag was raised there as a warning to visitors not to engage in activities on the beach due to weather conditions,” Senior Assistant Superintendent Masri Ibrahim said in a statement.

He added that a distress call was made at about 12.30pm on Wednesday, and that 17 rescuers were deployed to the scene. 

CNA has contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for information.

Desaru, a coastal town in the state of Johor, is popular among Singapore tourists for its resorts and beaches. It is about a 90-minute ferry ride from Singapore.

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Former Papua governor's death while serving time for corruption sparks criticism against beleaguered anti-graft agency

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JAKARTA/SINGAPORE: The death of former Papua governor Lukas Enembe while serving time for graft has sparked criticisms against the beleaguered Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for worsening the man’s health by subjecting him to court trials.

The KPK, however, said that while all charges against Lukas have been dropped owing to his death, the commission reserves the authority to recover all the state financial losses in relation to the former governor’s case.

An expert told CNA that the authorities may recover its assets through various ways, chief among them is to make its claims against Lukas’ estate.

Lukas died on Tuesday (Dec 26) while receiving treatment for kidney failure at Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, the Jakarta Globe reported.

His body will be flown back to Papua early on Thursday amid tightened security measures.

Local media reported that Lukas’ health deteriorated over the last several months even as he was undergoing a series of trials in relation to his corruption case.

Lukas was convicted of bribery and graft worth tens of billions of rupiah related to some infrastructure projects in Papua.

Authorities were also looking into a possible money laundering case against Lukas but local media reported that KPK prosecutors had not yet handed over the case to the court.

In October, Lukas was sentenced to eight years in prison, a fine of 500 million rupiah and ordered to pay 19.8 billion rupiah in state compensation. He would have had to serve an extra four months in jail if he failed to pay the fine and an extra two years if he failed to cough up the sum for the state compensation.

Just earlier this month, the Jakarta High Court rejected his appeal and increased his sentence to 10 years in prison, his fine to 1 billion rupiah and more than doubled the state restitution to over 47 billion rupiah.

Lukas was required to pay the restitution within one month. Otherwise, his property would be confiscated and if the value is insufficient, his prison sentence would be extended for an extra five years.

CLAIMS BY LAWYER

Mr Petrus Bala Pattyona, who was Lukas’ lawyer, told local media that the KPK should be held responsible for his client’s death. He claimed that by Indonesia’s law, those who are sick should not be tried in court.

“Of course, he was sick. According to the law, sick people cannot be tried,” he was quoted as saying by Tempo.

Mr Petrus further added that Lukas’ death meant that legal action could no longer be taken against his client.

“The decision that was to be implemented automatically expires because of the defendant’s death,” he said.

The anti-corruption agency itself has been plagued with scandal after its chairman Firli Bahuri was named as a suspect for alleged extortion against a former agriculture minister.

The embattled Firli, who had previously called out Lukas for the latter’s alleged corrupt behaviour and financial extravagance, has since resigned from his post on Dec 21.

The KPK deputy chairman Johanis Tanak maintained on Wednesday that the state can still file a prosecution in the form of compensation from suspects and defendants who have died through their estates.

“The state still has the right to demand compensation for state finances through a civil legal process by filing a civil lawsuit to the district court,” Mr Johanis was quoted as saying by Kompas.

CNA has contacted the KPK for comments.

Law expert Gandjar Laksmana Bonaprapta from the University of Indonesia told CNA that under Indonesian law, a case can no longer be investigated “with the loss of the right to prosecute, for example due to the death of a suspect”.

“If the case is inkracht (can no longer be appealed) and it is ordered that the payment of state financial losses must be paid by the suspect, then under Indonesian law it is possible to demand the payment of state financial losses from the suspect’s estate.

“Officials can also take the state financial losses from the suspect’s confiscated assets. However, if the amount of assets seized is insufficient to pay the state financial recovery, then the authorities can demand the estate to pay it through the civil court,” said Mr Gandjar.

Meanwhile, criminal law expert Abdul Fickar Hadjar from Trisakti University agreed that civil claims can be made against the Lukas’ estate.

“However, the state must be able to prove that the property controlled by the deceased’s family is state property,“ said Mr Fickar.

TIGHTENED SECURITY MEASURES IN PAPUA

Ahead of Lukas’ burial in Papua, the state police chief Mathius D Fakhiri asked the people of Papua to accept his death, according to Tempo.

Mr Mathius added that the police will provide maximum security upon the arrival of Lukas’ body in Papua, especially at Sentani International Airport in Jayapura.

During the mourning period, Mr Mathius said that the police would carry out security measures while respecting the Papuan culture and beliefs regarding funeral processions.

Lukas was serving his second term as Papua governor when he was arrested by the authorities earlier in January. He was first elected as governor in 2013 during the tenure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is the founder of the Democrat Party.

Lukas’ arrest was met with protests from his supporters – one person died after being shot by the police while three others were injured.

The police headquarters in Papua was also attacked by a mob of his supporters.

His case highlighted the lavish lifestyle of the governor even as resource-rich Papua was widely known as Indonesia’s poorest province.

Despite the corruption case that ensnared him, many praised Lukas for the progress of Papua, one of which was the success of holding the National Sports Week and National Paralympic Sports Week in 2021.

An anti-corruption activist in Papua whom CNA spoke to said that Lukas had been known to “pay close attention to (the needs of) indigenous Papuans”.

The activist, who did not want to be identified, added that many Papuans consider gratuities given out to be a common practice even though “it is a form of corruption”.

“This is due to Papuans’ lack of understanding about corruption, so they consider what Lukas did to be normal,” the activist said.

On the reception of the Papuan people ahead of Lukas’ burial, the activist said that the authorities “have gathered at the points where the Highland Papuan tribe lives”.

“Thank God, the pastor at the church where Lukas Enembe worships has appealed to the community not to vandalise anything. He said, ‘this Christmas should be enjoyed with a sense of peace, so that whatever happens must be accepted peacefully’,” said the activist.

Separately, the Papua provincial government has also asked residents and offices in the state to fly the flag at half-mast for three days. This was done in memory of the former governor who died.

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More efforts to prevent drink driving as demand for car-sharing services rev up in year-end festive period

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The company has revved up its operations for this peak period, hiring more employees to beef up its customer support team and to better maintain its fleet of cars.

It is also doing more to ensure that drivers observe road safety, and encouraging customers not to drink and drive amid the year-end hurrah.

“We do come up with educational content and on social media. However, I think the most important (platform) is probably in-app because I think that is where our users are using our service,” said Mr Lim.

“They will receive notifications or even in our in-app inbox, they will sometimes receive some information like how do you drive better or what should you be looking out for if you’re driving.”

SAFETY REMINDERS

Another car-sharing company Shariot told CNA that demand for its cars has also accelerated, with its year-end business up 20 per cent compared to last year.

It is banking heavily on visual reminders to educate drivers about road safety during this period.

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