The Leaderboard: Daim Zainuddin

The Leaderboard profiles the people behind the policies of the Asia-Pacific.

Who is he?

Daim Zainuddin is a Malaysian economist, politician, and successful businessman who served as Malaysia’s finance minister from 1984 to 1991. He is currently treasurer of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant political party in Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

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Daim Zainuddin. Source: Wikimedia, creative commons license.

While no longer serving in a formal role in government, Daim’s influence in Malaysian politics remains formidable as a fundraiser for UMNO and electoral candidates in the BN. He is the majority stakeholder in ICB Financial Group Holdings AG, which operates banks in Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Why is he in the news?

On May 24, Daim publicly criticized Prime Minister Najib Razak for BN’s poor performance in Malaysia’s May 5 national elections. While the coalition retained a parliamentary majority, it lost the popular vote for the first time since its founding in 1971. Daim accused Najib and his team of making strategic blunders during the election and suggested that the prime minister’s advisors be fired. Najib will likely face a challenge to his leadership of UNMO during party elections later this year.

What can we expect from him?

Daim remains influential in Malaysian politics and can be expected to play an important role at the UMNO elections. In an effort to avoid a party split, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said on June 17 that there should be no contest for the top two party leadership positions, held by Najib and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. Daim personally is expected to follow the lead of his long-time boss, but he could prove decisive in whether or not that advice is followed by others.

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