Lawyers dismiss claims Naimah Khalid out to topple government

2026-03-03 - 13:13

Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s widow, Naimah Khalid, has denied claims that she was involved in an attempt to destabilise the government. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for former finance minister Daim Zainuddin’s widow have dismissed claims that their client, Naimah Khalid, was attempting to topple the government with the help of a UK public relations firm. In a statement, Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh said the plan drawn up by the UK firm, aimed to reassure the Daim family’s bankers of their financial viability in the wake of a probe by anti-graft agencies. “There was no mention of toppling or even undermining the Malaysian government.” Yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the alleged plot to topple the government, which the police are investigating, is believed to be driven by large-scale corruption investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Anwar said the parties allegedly involved had used their local and foreign influence to question the government’s position and the systems in place. He claimed that the plot also involved “Zionists”, foreign lobbyist groups, bankers and international media agencies, and that such efforts began in August 2024 and were expected to continue until the next general election. Rajesh and Sachpreetraj, however, said that there was “not one word about Zionism or Israel or anything related to it in the entire communications plan”. “It is purely a business and PR plan.” Last week, Bukit Aman said it was investigating claims of an attempt by unnamed individuals to overthrow the government and threaten national stability, based on a police report. The police report alleged that members of a prominent family engaged a UK firm to exert pressure on the MACC and Anwar with the help of international media. The allegations followed news reports by Bloomberg claiming that MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki held 17.7 million shares in a financial services company and had not publicly declared his assets. In a separate article, Bloomberg claimed that a network of businessmen and MACC officers used raids and investigations to pressure executives into selling shares in targeted companies. The MACC has denied the claim. On Feb 27, Naimah denied claims that she was involved in an attempt to destabilise the government, calling the allegations “false and preposterous” in reference to a viral police report containing the allegations.