PUTRAJAYA: Tun Daim Zainuddin's wife said her husband's success is now being used as an excuse to tarnish his reputation and portray him as corrupt.
Toh Puan Nai'mah Khalid said Daim was already known as a tycoon and a multi-billionaire before entering public office 40 years ago.
"It was public knowledge that Daim was a very successful businessman prior to joining the government in 1984.
"Now, a campaign of disinformation and misperception is being relentlessly spread, suggesting that because he is very wealthy, therefore he is corrupt," Nai'mah said when met by reporters at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) Putrajaya compound here today.
Also present to provide statements are his two sons, Muhammed Amin Zainuddin and Muhammed Amir Zainuddin, accompanied by lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh.
She asserted that no businessman in the country will be safe from such insinuations, emphasising that such accusations linger once in the public domain.
Nai'mah criticised the Prime Minister, urging the need to respect the principle of innocence unless guilt is proven in court.
She said the Prime Minister has been suggesting on several recent occasions that her husband has illegal wealth but without providing any evidence.
"Is the Prime Minister suggesting that hardworking and capable Malay businessmen cannot become wealthy without resorting to improper and illegal means?" she questioned.
She added that the prime minister's office should also never be used to tarnish the reputation of individuals by insinuations or be used to settle old political scores.
She argued that these allegations perpetuate harmful stereotypes and undermine the capabilities of successful Malays.
"In Malaysia now, are tenuous suppositions issued from the prime minister's bully pulpit adequate to condemn a person?
"Today it is my family; tomorrow who knows will be victimised," she said.
On Dec 23 last year, the MACC confirmed that it was investigating Daim over allegations of corruption and money laundering.
The confirmation came about after the commission on Dec 18 seized the 58-storey Ilham Tower, a commercial property in the Kuala Lumpur city centre reportedly owned by Daim's family.
Daim subsequently labeled the probe against him and his family a "political witch hunt."
He said neither he nor his family had been involved in any corruption or wrongdoing, adding that his efforts to establish what offences he allegedly committed to warrant the probe had been rebuffed by the MACC.
On Dec 30, MACC in response, said the probe on Daim began in February 2023 based on information from the Pandora Papers.
MACC said as part of the investigation, it sent Daim a notice on June 7 last year, requiring him to declare all his assets, whether inside or outside the country, within 30 days from the date the notice was issued.
The commission said Daim had applied for five extensions, and he was granted the extensions on July 6, Aug 10, Sept 11, Oct 11, and the last on Nov 14 to declare all his assets.
As part of the investigation process, the public prosecutor issued a Notice of Seizure on Ilham Tower on Dec 18, under Section 38(1) of the MACC Act 2009 (Seizure of Immovable Property).