"I advise, he decides, " Daim said last week of his "real relationship" with Mahathir.
Daim has put that notion to rest: he wants rates down and the stock market up.
"They have enabled us to concentrate on the domestic recovery, " Daim said in written replies to questions.
Daim is also considering removing the remaining part of the 10% exit tax currently levied on foreign investors.
And on June 5th Dr Mahathir announced that he would, temporarily, take over the finance job again, following Mr Daim's departure.
ECONOMIST: Daim Zainuddin goes as Malaysia��s finance minister
In another action to show his strength, Dr Mahathir has recently taken over the finance ministry from his long-time ally, Daim Zainuddin.
But, although Mr Daim's departure will take off some of the heat, it would be surprising if Dr Mahathir followed this up with real reforms.
ECONOMIST: Daim Zainuddin goes as Malaysia��s finance minister
Towards the end of the year, the first post-Daim budget can be expected to prompt questions about how long Dr Mahathir's pump-priming can sustain him.
Although officially Mr Daim has resigned to take a well-earned rest, Dr Mahathir's three previous deputy prime ministers could be forgiven for detecting a pattern.
In June Dr Mahathir brought an old chum and former finance minister, Daim Zainuddin, into the cabinet with an economic brief that has clipped Mr Anwar's wings.
Dr Mahathir further strengthened his position on June 25th when he restored his friend Daim Zainuddin, a former finance minister, to the cabinet as its economic overlord.
He eventually handed the job to Daim Zainuddin, a wealthy power-broker and long-time ally who had helped to devise the controls as part of a wider recovery plan.
ECONOMIST: Daim Zainuddin goes as Malaysia��s finance minister
Daim Zainuddin, Malaysia's economic czar, also has some heavy-handed moves to explain: Kuala Lumpur's currency restrictions which shield its ringgit from attack as it tries to reflate the economy.
Also remaining in the same posts were Daim Zainuddin (finance, special functions), Syed Hamid Albar (foreign), Rafidah Aziz (international trade and industry), Ling Liong Sik (transport) and Samy Vellu (works).
The list of casualties reads like a Who's Who of Mahathir backers: the PM's close friend and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin, former agriculture minister Sanusi Junid, the ex-deputy premier Ghafar Baba, former chief minister of Malacca Rahim Tamby Chik, current deputy ministers Khalid Yunus and Railey Jeffrey, and the party's veteran information chief Hussein Ahmad.
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