bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

The Malaysian business community is bracing itself for two possible bombshells ahead of nationwide elections on November 29.

 Jailed former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim could unleash the contents of six boxes of secret government documents said to chart a web of corruption involving top ministers and businessmen.

 And his successor in the government, Daim Zainuddin, could retire.

 Mr Daim, who Anwar has blamed for plotting his downfall, has said he wants to return to being a businessman.

 'With the economic revival I actually plan to retire,' he said this week.

 Neither event is certain, nor are they necessarily related.

 Mr Daim has long been a reluctant politician, preferring to keep out of the public spotlight to focus on his extensive business interests.

 Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad managed to part Mr Daim from his beloved business empire to serve a first term as finance minister in the mid-1980s, to help dig Malaysia out of the recession it was in then.

  Once the economy recovered, Mr Daim asked to step down in 1991, making way for Anwar, who was at that time the rising young star of Dr Mahathir's United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

 When the next general election came around in 1995, Mr Daim asked not to be nominated as a member of parliament.

 However, he was still cajoled by Dr Mahathir to stand and loyally did.

 After the Asian currency crisis struck, Mr Daim was drafted back into Cabinet in 1998 as special functions minister and in September of that year, when Anwar was sacked and capital controls controversially introduced, as finance minister.It has yet to be seen whether the prime minister will once again deny Mr Daim's wish to quit politics. Nomination day for candidates is Saturday.

 If Mr Daim does not contest a seat, he could be appointed to the senate, allowing him to continue as finance minister.

 Should he be allowed to retire, then analysts have cited two potential successors, assuming Dr Mahathir's party is re-elected.

 One would be incumbent Second Finance Minister Mustapa Mohamed, widely seen as Mr Daim's protege. While Mr Daim has kept a low profile as first finance minister, Mr Mustapa has been used to attend public functions at home and abroad. Analysts believe Mr Mustapa is being groomed to become a first-tier minister but that he may still be too inexperienced, given he only served for a short spell as entrepreneur minister before promoted to his present job.

 Another potential candidate could be Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, from the Kelantan royal family, who preceded Mr Daim as finance minister from 1976 to 1984.

  Mr Tengku Razaleigh quit Umno in 1987 to form his own breakaway party after unsuccessfully challenging Dr Mahathir for leadership. He has recently returned to the fold. While having the experience to manage a finance portfolio, analysts are uncertain whether the prime minister yet trusts him enough.

 Long-time Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz is also seen as widely qualified and loyal, though may be overlooked for such a senior job being a woman in a Muslim state.

 Should the opposition win the election, as few expect, K.S. Jomo, a socialist University of Malaya professor with an economics doctorate from Harvard, has been touted as possible finance minister material.

 Anwar, who is serving a six-year jail term for corruption and standing trial on one count of sodomy, has named Mr Daim and Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Megat Junid Ayub as among those who allegedly plotted his downfall as finance minister and deputy prime minister last September.

 Anwar's former political secretary, Mohamed Ezam Nor, is said to have retained six boxes of sensitive government documents from Anwar's time in office, and opposition figures have threatened to release these at a politically opportune time. It is now known if the contents would implicate Mr Daim.

 Observers widely expect this to mean during the general election campaign, which officially gets underway next week.

 However, this would mean blatantly breaking the Official Secrets Act, so it has yet to be seen whether they dare.



Reputations at stake with Anwar's boxes