I became a lawyer again to meet Anwar in prison, says Daim

(FMT) – Council of Eminent Persons chairman Daim Zainuddin has revealed that he took up law again to discuss election strategies with Anwar Ibrahim while the PKR leader was in prison.

In an interview on TV3’s Soal Rakyat programme last night, he said it was difficult to meet Anwar as only family members and lawyers were allowed in the Sungai Buloh prison.

“To overcome this, I became a lawyer again. That way, I gained entry to the prison and we held discussions about six times,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

Daim said he was later stopped from meeting Anwar, and that he wrote to Najib Razak asking why.

“They (the BN government) must have received reports on certain matters (on the meetings),” he said. “But it’s okay because Anwar and I had already discussed matters.”

In early January, FMT reported that the former finance minister appeared to have returned to active legal practice.

The 80-year-old, who began his career as a lawyer in 1961, renewed his practising certificate and registered under legal firm Messrs Daim & Gamany, where he was once a partner.

The Bar Council directory revealed that Daim, listed as the 14th most senior lawyer, renewed his certificate on Jan 12.

Lawyer R Kengadharan said at the time that a person who holds a valid certificate can represent clients in any court in the peninsula, including meeting with prisoners.

Anwar had been serving a five-year jail term for sodomy following the Federal Court’s decision to affirm his conviction and sentence in early 2015.