What is behind Malaysia’s corruption crackdown that’s ensnared Daim Zainuddin, former aide of Mahathir Mohamad?

Mahathir has described the ongoing investigations as selective persecution, even claiming that the MACC had done nothing to look into allegations raised in 1999 that Anwar had squirrelled away billions of ringgit under multiple accounts.

The MACC on Wednesday denied Mahathir’s claim, saying an in-depth probe was launched while he was still prime minister, and there was no case against Anwar.

Naimah is the first to be charged in connection with the corruption crackdown.

But analysts expect more charges will follow as the probe widens to include the wealth of Mahathir’s family.

Anwar has brushed aside claims of selective persecution of his political rivals. On Monday, he said it was part of his administration’s efforts to push government reform and tackle the country’s endemic corruption.

“If there is no political support for this, at least in the issue of governance and the demand for change, I seek the full support of the people,” he said.

Critics, however, say Anwar gave notice of his intentions in a mid-2022 news conference, warning that if he were to become prime minister, Daim would have “sleepless nights”.

Daim is a long-time close associate of Mahathir, swiftly rising up the political ranks to become finance minister in his debut as an MP in the early 1980s, during Mahathir’s first prime ministerial term.

Together, Mahathir and Daim oversaw a period of aggressive economic expansion, which their opponents have said was marked by crony capitalism that benefited only a select few.

Before that, Daim was already an accomplished businessman with interests across everything from property development to snack food production, manufacturing and banking.

Veterans of the long-ruling Umno party – to which all three men belonged at the