“This is robbery. You can’t just take people’s property,” the two-time prime minister told reporters after launching  a book titled “100 Pesan Tun: Membina Keluarga Dan Bangsa” here.

He also said that Daim, who had been his trusted confidante, was not convicted of theft.

“If you can prove that he was found guilty of stealing, then you can take whatever he has,” he said.

Yesterday, MACC said it had opened eight new investigation papers into the “high-value” assets.

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the investigations were prompted by new information received from overseas.

He said the findings stemmed from investigations carried out in 2023, adding that the failure to declare assets constituted an offence under the law.

Azam also confirmed that while Daim had died last year, MACC would move forward with recommending the forfeiture of the assets in question, although the final decision would rest with the deputy public prosecutor.

Mahathir said Daim, who died last November, had contributed to the nation by investing his profits back into the country.

He said this was exactly what he had expected of the tycoon.

“That is what we want. You can do business anywhere, but bring back your money here (to Malaysia).

“And he brought back the money and was able to build a skyscraper with that money.”

Mahathir also accused the government of “stealing” the money now that Daim was no longer able to defend himself.

The asset declaration case against Daim came to an end on Nov 20 after the prosecution decided to withdraw the charge under Section 36(2) of the MACC Act 2009, following his death.

Ten days later, Daim’s widow Naimah Khalid expressed frustration over a statement by MACC that investigations into Daim’s finances and assets remained ongoing, including a probe into a “money trail” overseas, under Section 23 of the MACC Act.

She also hit out at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whom she claimed had repeatedly accused Daim of “stealing billions” without providing any evidence of wrongdoing.