Daim wants cabinet to declassify its papers to clear his name

The Straits Times, Singapore
27 January 2006
By Reme Ahmad, Straits Times

MALAYSIA'S former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has called for Cabinet minutes relating to toll-road operator Metramac to be declassified, in the latest attempt to clear his name in a multimillion-dollar scandal involving the company.

Tun Daim has maintained that all decisions about the company were made collectively by the Cabinet of the day. Declassifying the Cabinet minutes would allow the public to see whether he played a key role behind the scenes, as said in a judgment by the Court of Appeal, Tun Daim said yesterday evening in a detailed statement.

Tun Daim is the second former finance minister to be drawn into the controversy that has captivated the public. Former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim last week issued a statement to say he was implicated through 'insinuatory and utterly mischievous means' though his name was not mentioned in the court judgment.

The Court of Appeal had concluded two weeks ago that tycoon Tan Sri Halim Saad and his partner Anuar Othman were able to gain a stake in, and misappropriate RM32.5 million (S$14.1 million) from, Metramac, due to their links with Tun Daim.

Metramac built and operated a highway in Kuala Lumpur but ran into trouble after public protests in 1990 led to a suspension of toll collection. The troubled company was later bought over by Metro Juara and received compensation from the government. Metro Juara shareholders Tan Sri Halim and Datuk Anuar were widely considered to be proteges of Tun Daim.

Judge Gopal Sri Ram wrote in a judgment approved by two other appellate judges that RM32.5 million had been siphoned from the company's accounts by Datuk Anuar and Tan Sri Halim, and concluded that this was a breach of company laws and possibly an aggravated form of criminal breach of trust.

Tan Sri Halim had denied any criminal misappropriation, saying the RM32.5 million was due to him and Datuk Anuar because they had lent the money earlier 'from our own pockets'. Tun Daim has also denied that the tycoon or his partner had enjoyed his patronage.

Yesterday, top lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who represents current shareholders of Metramac, was taken to task by the Court of Appeal over a complaint letter against Justice Sri Ram's remarks in the judgment.