Daim was seen as a controversial figure by some but was also credited with turning around the economy when it was in dire straits during his two stints as finance minister.

Interestingly, he could have made a name for himself in the legal field but fate intervened. In the late 1950s, his parents sent him to London to study law at Lincoln’s Inn. He was then called to the English Bar in 1959.

After spending several years as a lawyer, he joined public service in 1962 as a magistrate in Johor Bahru and became a sessions court judge in Muar the next year.

In 1964, he became a deputy public prosecutor in Perak but returned to private legal practice the next year at Allen & Gledhill. He subsequently set up his own law firm Daim & Gamany.

By the late 1960s he made the pivotal decision to venture into business, and the rest is history.

A bumpy start

Daim had a rude awakening when his first two business ventures in salt production and plastics manufacturing failed.

Things started looking up for him when he established a property development company, Syarikat Maluri Sdn Bhd in 1969.

In 1973, the company acquired a piece of prime land in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, on which he subsequently developed the housing estates known as Taman Maluri and Taman Bukit Maluri.

This was the stepping stone on his journey to becoming a tycoon with interests in real estate, banking, media and logistics.

In 1981, Daim bought Indo-Suez bank, which was subsequently renamed the Malaysian-French Bank. He later swapped his majority stake in the bank for a smaller stake in United Malayan Banking Corporation, then the second-largest bank in Malaysia.

He was also the major shareholder in Alliance Bank, which was created from the merger of seven financial institutions including Hock Hua Bank, Bumiputra Merchant Bankers, and Multi-Purpose Bank.

Daim previously confirmed he had controlling or substantial interests in various public-listed companies including SimeUEP (now known as Sime Darby), Guthrie, TV3, Maybank, Consplant, Cold Storage, and Nestle Malaysia.

His family also owns the 60-storey Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur, which was seized by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission last December.

While Daim’s net worth cannot be ascertained, he made a bold claim in January that his liquid assets alone would have been worth more than RM50 billion had he remained in business rather than serve in the government.

“Before joining politics and taking up public office, I was quite a successful and wealthy businessman. My decision to join the government and serve the country caused significant financial losses to me and my family,” he said in an affidavit.

In January, Daim and his wife were separately charged with failing to declare their assets. Daim denied the allegations, claiming it as a political vendetta orchestrated by the current government.

Mahathir’s trusted confidante

Perhaps the most pivotal development for Daim was his association in the early 1970s with future prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was then returning from political exile after he was kicked out from Umno for writing his controversial book, “The Malay Dilemma”.

Both hailed from Alor Setar, Kedah, and in the intervening years Daim would become Mahathir’s trusted confidante.

Three years after Mahathir became deputy prime minister in 1976, Daim was appointed the first chairman of property developer Peremba, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

As Mahathir rose up the ranks in Umno, Daim followed in tandem. When Mahathir became prime minister in 1981, he made Daim chairman of Umno’s investment arm, Fleet Holdings Sdn Bhd, the next year.

He was also appointed as Umno treasurer in 1984. This essentially gave him oversight over Umno’s vast corporate assets and purse strings.

Daim served as finance minister from 1984 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2001.

He and Mahathir presided over Malaysia’s economic boom during the 1980s, championing privatisation and liberalisation. It was also a period which some critics claim was characterised by “crony capitalism”.

In his first stint as finance minister, Daim was credited with enabling the economy to recover from a recession, paving the way for Malaysia’s rise as a regional economic power.

By then, Daim was seen as someone who could move markets even after he had left the Cabinet.

In early January 1994, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index plunged 180 points over three days after a news report with a headline “Daim: Get out now, don’t say we didn’t tell you” allegedly caused panic selling among investors.

Steady hands in a crisis

Daim’s services were called upon again in the midst of the Asian financial crisis after Mahathir sacked his deputy and finance minister Anwar Ibrahim in late 1998.

Once again, he led the recovery efforts after the government imposed unpopular capital control measures as the ringgit plummeted, stabilised the economy, and put it back on the growth path.

During his second stint, Daim spearheaded consolidation of the bloated banking sector, transforming the country’s financial industry.

From over 50 banks, mergers and acquisitions reduced this to 10 major banks by the early 2000s, creating a more resilient financial sector.

His supporters will undoubtedly claim that Daim played a prominent role in reshaping Malaysia’s corporate and financial landscape. Ultimately, history will be the judge.

What is clear is that Daim was a shrewd operator who rose from obscurity to attain power and influence in both business and government.