No letter from Daim, says Mahathir

Daim is due to return to work Friday after a two-month break

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Friday he has not received any resignation letter from Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin.

Speculation that Daim might quit has intensified following recent media reports.

Malaysia's Bernama newsagency reported Friday that Mahathir told reporters he would not comment on speculation about Daim's purported resignation.

"So far I have not got it (a resignation letter)," Mahathir said on his return from Indonesia, where he attended a summit of the Group of 15 developing nations.

Daim is due to return to work Friday after a two-month holiday that began in early April.

There has been speculation that he has fallen out with Mahathir over economic policy issues.

Utusan Malaysia, a local Malay newspaper controlled by Mahathir's ruling United Malays National Organisation, said its office took many calls on Thursday about Daim's return.

The newspaper said the calls asking if it was true that Daim would hand in his resignation came from the public, and several corporate leaders and politicians.

But government sources told Reuters on Friday there was no truth to the speculation, and a senior minister on Wednesday said Daim would definitely be returning to government after his break.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.