DAIM Zainuddin and the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) must continue their work, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He said he has yet to dismiss Daim from chairing the CEP, which plays an advisory role to the federal government.

“He (Daim) mentioned 100 days. I never mentioned 100 days,” Dr Mahathir told Malaysian reporters at a press conference in China, which was aired live on Berita RTM’s Facebook.

“I want him to be there to do part of my work…tracing where the money is.

“Daim has access to a lot of information, somehow. It’s useful to have him continue.

“I have not dismissed him. I have also not paid him a single sen, and he works 24 hours a day,” he added.

Dr Mahathir was asked to comment on the CEP chairman’s statement yesterday that the council’s mandate for 100 days was over and that a report on its recommendations would be handed to the prime minister.

“As far as we are concerned, we have finished and gone back to our respective jobs,” Daim had told reporters yesterday.

The CEP was formed on May 12 by Dr Mahathir after Pakatan Harapan won federal power, pending the formation of a full cabinet. Its duty was to advise the government on national matters, including on the economy and finances, during the power transition period.

It was widely reported to have been given a mandate of 100 days, which Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong had recently confirmed when responding to opposition MPs in the Dewan Rakyat.

Apart from Daim, who is a former finance minister, the other council members are Bank Negara governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz, former Petronas president and CEO Hassan Marican, sugar tycoon Robert Kuok and renowned economist Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

The CEP, despite having only an advisory role, is seen as a powerful group. Some have said it is even more powerful than the ministers, and accountable only to Dr Mahathir.

Barisan Nasional MPs had questioned Daim’s trip to China to discuss infrastructure projects on behalf of Putrajaya, noting he was not an elected lawmaker. They also slammed the CEP chair for calling up former chief justice Raus Sharif, after which he tendered his resignation.

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa earlier today said for public accountability, the CEP ought to table its report in Parliament instead of submitting it directly to the prime minister. – August 21, 2018.