KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 (IslamOnline) - Malaysia's Finance Minister, Daim Zainuddin, submitted his resignation on Friday, but at the time of this writing, there is no confirmation of an official acceptance of the resignation.
Sources in Kuala Lumpur say the controversial minister sent a letter to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday after Friday prayers (Jumaah). The Prime Minister has to accept the letter of resignation before it becomes official.
Daim Zainuddin's resignation could signal the end of his political career under Mahathir's prime ministership. This is his second resignation as Minister of Finance in 10 years.
Politicians in Malaysia say the resignation may harm the Malaysian government's performance in terms of economic planning and are wondering whether Zainuddin would remain on as an advisor to the administration.
Over the last year, persistent news has leaked that the Zainuddin had problems with Mahathir over ways to resolve the Malaysian economic crisis. Both men fell out on several key issues leading the Finance Minister to take two months leave. The leave irritated Mahathir.
There are reasonable doubts, however, whether Zainuddin's resignation would cause any significant political upheaval in Malaysia. He does not hold much power within the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and is not the type of politician who would rush for political stardom, IslamOnline was told.
In his hey-day, Daim Zainuddin was Anwar Ibrahim's political partner, and aided in preventing an internal coup against Mahathir Mohammad by Kelantan Prince Tunku Razaleigh in 1987.
In 1998, Zainuddin was portrayed as the man behind the scenes in attempts to eliminate Anwar Ibrahim from the government. Informed sources said he warned Anwar Ibrahim that Mahathir would find ways and means to ensure Ibrahim's downfall.
His recent troubles with Mahathir extend over a range of issues; one being a bank merger exercise where Mahathir modified strict rules imposed by Daim.
They fell out again over the pegging of the Malaysian Ringgit on the international monetary market, as well as the nomination of economic advisors without informing Zainuddin of the appointments.
The former finance minister remains a member of Parliament, while news that a book written by the same writer who brought Anwar Ibrahim's downfall, is now publishing a book on Zainuddin.
