KUALA LUMPUR – The family of Malaysia’s late influential former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin has sued Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the national police chief and the government, seeking to stop what they say are false allegations tying his widow and sons to a plot to overthrow the government.
The lawsuit, filed on March 6, comes a week after police announced they were probing an alleged conspiracy to “topple the government and sabotage national stability” involving a prominent local figure and an international media agency, without publicly naming the suspects. Daim’s family said in a statement it was now “public knowledge” that the investigation is targeting his widow, Na’imah Abdul Khalid, and their sons.
An unverified police report circulating online accuses Ms Na’imah of conspiring to oust the government, a charge she has rejected, questioning whether hiring a public relations firm could reasonably be considered an attempt to overthrow an elected administration. The family’s suit accuses Mr Anwar, Inspector-General of Police Mohd Khalid Ismail and the government of “abuse of power” and asks the court to declare the investigation unlawful and tainted by bad faith.
Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office, the police and the attorney-general’s chambers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Police have said the probe is being conducted under laws against undermining parliamentary democracy, an offence that carries a maximum prison term of 20 years.
Tun Daim, who died in November 2024, was a long-time ally of former premier Mahathir Mohamad; Mr Anwar and Dr Mahathir’s on-off rivalry has shaped Malaysian politics for decades. Before his death, Daim was the focus of a corruption investigation into allegedly undeclared wealth, which he denied, describing the case as a political vendetta orchestrated by Mr Anwar.