[UPDATED] Daim's widow to fight 'politically motivated' asset freeze

KUALA LUMPUR: Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid will file a challenge to set aside the ex parte court order obtained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday to freeze assets worth more £132 million (about RM758.2 million).
In a statement today, the widow of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin said she was never notified of MACC's action, calling it a shocking infringement of the most basic legal norms.
"I will fight this politically motivated, reckless, vindictive and lawless action, through all legal means at my disposal," she said in a statement shared by her lawyer, Rajesh Nagarajan.
The ex-parte order granted by Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid involved assets such as two commercial buildings totalling £55,200,000; five luxury residences totalling £77,115,000 and a bank account owned by Ilham Foundation.
Na'imah said the MACC had obtained this ex parte order secretly, in silence behind closed doors, to freeze properties abroad that are lawfully owned.
She said such seizure by the government without notice to the legal owner is a dangerous precedent.
"I should have been allowed to have my say in court. No reasonable person will say this was in accordance with fairness or the rules of natural justice.
"They obtained the order by ambush. There is no provision under the law authorising such an ex parte application to be made.
"And now they hide behind the cloak of legality to justify what is nothing short of institutionalised theft.
"The most disturbing and shocking aspect of this is that it is being done despite no crime of any kind being proven against Daim," she said.
Na'imah, however, said it was no surprise to her that the MACC would resort to such blatant methods, saying such tactics are natural consequences of the long and continuous smear campaign against her family since late 2022.
She said she will resist the line that had been crossed and will not bow down to bullies.
Previously, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had said that eight new investigation papers related to Daim's family have been opened as part of the probe into properties valued at over RM2 billion.
He said the commission had been conducting a probe into Daim since February 2023 and had opened several investigation papers, including the latest ones initiated recently.
Daim died on Nov 12 last year, at the age of 86.

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