PENDANG, May 1 — Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin made a surprise quick visit at Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) parliamentary operations centre today, lending some support to Pakatan Harapan (PH) hopefuls there.
Arriving at 3.45pm by flight, Daim had a 30-minute session with the locals as well as members of the media before heading back to the airport to catch a flight to Kuala Lumpur.
“I’m here because of my friends,” Daim said, gesturing to parliamentary candidate Wan Saiful Wan Jan and state candidates Abdul Razak Ahmad and Mohd Firdaus Jaafar, when asked why he decided to come to Pendang out of all the constituencies in Alor Setar.
In response, Wan Saiful said Daim’s presence was an endorsement to his campaign.
“I’m humble enough to admit that I need all the help I can get,” the new PPBM recruit said.
Daim, who spoke to roughly 50 locals, also told them they should cast their ballots for PH if they wish to make changes and “save the country”.
He recalled the services that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has made throughout the 22 years of his administration.
Daim cited projects such as Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the North-South Expressway, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, and various other infrastructure projects which has modernised Malaysia.
“During his tenure, Malaysia went through two financial crisis in 1986 and in 1998. Did the people suffer when they went through this crisis?” he asked, referring to Dr Mahathir.
Today, they say the economy is good and that everything is improving. But the people, the poor are suffering. Costs of living has gone up. We need to change this,” he added, referring to BN.
Daim served as finance minister under Dr Mahathir between 1984 and 1991, and for the second time between 1999 and 2001.
He had stayed off the spotlight since he divested most of his local assets in 2013, but has in the past year made several appearances in events attended by Opposition leaders.
