This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 21, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan’s de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should be the next prime minister to succeed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.

“Pakatan Harapan has decided [the next prime minister] should be Anwar. And [so] Anwar should be the next one,” Daim, who is the chairman of the five-man Council of Eminent Persons (CEP), told reporters here yesterday.

He also quashed speculation that he was involved in a plot with Dr Mahathir — dubbed the “Dr M-Daim plot” to stop Anwar from becoming the next premier, which had been agreed on by all four component parties under Pakatan.

‘I have retired from politics and I don’t want to respond to [Datuk] Abdullah Sani. He can claim whatever,” he added, when asked about the recent allegation by Kapar member of parliament Datuk Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid that Daim was hatching a plan to stop Anwar from succeeding Dr Mahathir.

Earlier, Daim said the CEP had completed its 100-day mandate to assist the Pakatan government in fulfilling its election pledges, as well as to provide advice on socio-economic and financial matters.

But Daim said the CEP is bound by the Official Secrets Act 1972, hence its findings can only released on the consent of the prime minister. “All of us really hope [our report will be made public], but it is up to the government,” he said.

He said the findings revolve around several key themes, which are the need to improve governance and the well-being of the rakyat, and to ensure the economy is inclusive and sustainable. “And not politicise the civil service,” he added.

MoF improvements should be top priority

To accelerate reforms, Daim said improvements in the finance ministry (MoF) should be made top priority, before other initiatives can be implemented effectively. “MoF must bring in money and revenue for the country and make sure expenditure is not wasted,” he said, adding that the entity must be free from all corrupt practices.

Daim also urged the public to continue supporting the present government — which he is positive is steering the country in the right direction — and asked Malaysians to be patient with its efforts to restore the rule of law and justice, which will take longer than 100 days.

As to the debacle at 1Malaysia Development Bhd, and various other irregularities in government-linked entities such as Majlis Amanah Rakyat and Lembaga Tabung Haji, Daim said the authorities will ensure they have built up a strong case, with a 90% possibility of securing conviction, before they proceed to charge anyone.

“To charge people, first you have to investigate. Before this, there was no investigation … [the government’s] priority is to make sure certain individuals are being targeted first for investigation,” he said.

‘Not wise’ to abolish tolls now

Daim also said the government’s plan to abolish highway tolls, which was one of its election promises, is not viable now.

“The idea to remove the tolls completely does not make any economic sense in this [current] financial position,” Daim said. “It is not wise or viable at this stage.”

In the last 100 days, Daim said the five-man CEP heard and received many proposals related to the proposed toll abolition. “There are many ways to do it, but we need a bit more time because the bulk of the toll concessions belong to government-linked companies,” he added.

Last week, Works Minister Baru Bian said Putrajaya had agreed to postpone abolishing the tolls, for which it would have to compensate concessionaires some RM400 million.

As for the suspended 668km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which would cost up to RM81 billion, Daim said his stand remains that the project’s cost “is too high and, as it stands,  the project is not viable”. “If any private companies have the funds and find that project viable then let them do it,” he added.

On Dr Mahathir’s plan for a new national car company, Daim said it “is not so much [about] making the third national car, it is to make sure we have the right industrial systems to face the future”.