Chairperson of the Council of Eminent Persons Daim Zainuddin has brushed off the caution against him by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, had questioned Daim’s commitment to democratic accountability and the former finance minister’s inability to “explain some major problems in the past”.

In response, Daim today said he had never once been found guilty of wrongdoing despite being subject to numerous probes under several administrations.

“The public does not know this but every time they lodged reports (against me), I have been investigated […] the police and MACC everybody has come and investigated me.

“Every time! Under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time, during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time and also under Najib Abdul Razak’s time.

“So far, I have not been charged.

“The only thing they have (on me) is the royal commission of inquiry (into the Bank Negara forex losses) where I think even Mahathir and Anwar were called,” he said when asked during a press conference at Menara Ilham in Kuala Lumpur today.

Anwar, who was fully pardoned and released from jail on Wednesday, had raised concerns of an “Umno 2.0” seeping into the new Pakatan Harapan government.

Daim rubbished this.

“Why should this be? We don’t want this. Why did I come out (against BN-Umno)? Why should I go and fight Umno if we want to continue with Umno? Does it make sense to you?” he posed.

Daim had stumped for Harapan during the 14th general election (GE14).

Anwar a ‘polished’ politician

Elaborating on his previous comment that it would be foolish to rush the installation of Anwar as the next PM, Daim said today that he trusted that PKR leader understood the terms spelt out in Harapan’s GE14 manifesto.

“I’ve met Anwar a couple of times, Anwar is a very polished politician. He knows the ground very well and he knows what the Harapan manifesto was (about).

“(The manifesto) offered Mahathir as the interim PM for two years and people accepted that. When you sell Mahathir as the seventh PM, you have to honour that,” he said.

Daim speculated that it was the younger politicians in Anwar’s party who were pushing for the latter’s premiership.

“In any political party, there are those who are impatient […] the young fellows are in a hurry, like most young people. They are the ones who want Anwar (to be the PM),” he said.

Anwar previously stressed that he was in no rush to formally enter politics.

Deputy prime minister and PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is also Anwar’s wife, has also maintained that the “reformasi agenda” will be prioritised over making Anwar PM.