opinion Daim Zainuddin's resignation as Finance Minister has left a lot of questions on both the political and economic fronts unanswered.

Observers believe that next Tuesday's media conference, which he had promised, is unlikely to bring about any answers either.

Over the past year or so, a number of questions have been raised concerning expensive bailout exercises, involving corporate personalities known to be close to the former minister.

Print media reports purporting to express shock over the news of Daim's resignation on the part of ruling party politicians, is viewed as nothing but pretense, making both the politicians and Daim look foolish in the process.

People want quick answers, and the delay in explaining why he had chosen to leave Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet suggests that perhaps Daim is waiting for the interest in his departure to subside.

It is true, people have a short memory, but in extraordinary episodes such as Daim's, this may not be really true.

Look at deposed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. After being charged, found guilty and sent to prison, he hardly fails to make it on the pages of local newspapers; the foreign media too have not forgotten the 'man with the black eye'.

The first question, which has never been given a proper answer, both in and out of Parliament, is why Tajudin Ramli was paid about RM1.7 billion in order for the government to acquire his 19.7 percent stake in Malaysia Airlines (MAS) held though Naluri Sdn Bhd.

Interest in the airlines company was heightened with the recent disclosure of the massive losses suffered by MAS - RM1.3 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2001.

Why was the government eager to pay well above the market price and without ascertaining the actual losses?

Did the due diligence audit fail to probe the full extent of the losses? If so, would the government ask Tajudin to return the money which could be better spent on injecting new capital into the national airlines and reducing its huge debts?

More bailouts

Again, there were a lot of questions being asked about the bailing out of Halim Saad's Renong, especially the manner in which funds from EPF were disbursed as loans to Time dotCom.

Dotcom companies are more often than not failing everywhere because the market cannot support something that comes out of 'nothing'.

Time dotCom is seen as nothing more than a mechanism to milk money out of the government to pay for personal and corporate debts. Who benefits from this? Charges about this practice being crony capitalism at work have never been answered.

Then what about the initial attempt to rescue the Light Rail Transit (LRT) operators in Kuala Lumpur?

If these companies had no money and had to borrow from banks to the hilt in order to build the LRT business, they should not have accepted the contracts in the first place.

Let others, the many corporate entities with much spare cash and which do not need to rely on bank borrowings, undertake the LRT project instead.

Some people must learn that you cannot do a business by relying on 100 percent bank borrowings and have zero capital of your own.

Just ask the successful contractors and entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo what will happen if you turn to the banks for 100 percent borrowings to start a project. The interest will kill you.

In a lurch

This is the problem with some of the pseudo-entrepreneurs who move around in chauffeur-driven Jaguars and Mercedes Benz, draped in Armani with diamond-studded Rolex watches even before the company gets a single cent in return from its investments.

In a way this is encouraged by the Mahathir government because some politicians invest in business cronies. With Daim's departure from cabinet, a number of these people are likely to feel uneasy and be left in a lurch.

The perception from this side of the South China Seas in the less developed state of Sarawak is that Daim is no Thaksin Srinawatra. "I do this (becoming Prime Minister) as a volunteer to help my country," Thaksin had said on CNN. The Thai Prime Minister is of course very rich as well.

Even if there is a perception of a conflict between an individual and his personal (and business) interest when he runs for public office or is already occupying a public office, then his position is no longer tenable.

It's worse when such a perception also implies he has no second thoughts or qualms about obtaining a personal benefit out of holding a public office, to the detriment of others.

A ploy

Another question arises from the manner in which Mahathir handled the rumours about Daim's impending resignation.

Was the Prime Minister expecting Daim "to change his mind" so that he would not seem to be abandoning him at a time when he needs every staunch supporter to face the serious challenges to his leadership?

What about reports in Asiaweek regarding Mahathir's emissaries meeting Anwar Ibrahim's supporters in Libya on the possibility of a reconciliation ahead of the 2004 general elections which is seen as perhaps the most crucial for a weakening Umno..

Is Daim's resignation part of a ploy to appease the opposing Malay factions led by Dr Wan Azizah Ismail, Anwar's diminutive but certainly sharp and intelligent wife, since it is very much believed that Daim was among several leaders who had allegedly plotted the ouster of Anwar?

Or is it part of a scheme for Mahathir to save himself in the face of what appears to be a combined onslaught by a determined opposition front against his leadership? Cracks within Umno are only making things worse for the beleaguered premier.

What did Daim do during his two-month leave? Certain media people know about his role in the episode where one of Mahathir's sons, a corporate figure, decided "to call it quits", only to be exposed later in Parliament by an opposition member that in fact this son's interests in the corporate world remained largely intact.

When the KLSE opens for trading on Tuesday, it will be interesting to watch which counters will seem to benefit more from Daim's departure. That could give some indication of how popular or well-liked the former finance minister is.

Perhaps at his Tuesday press conference Daim should give answers rather than listen to new questions. People are intelligent enough to discern between fact and fiction.