PUTRAJAYA (March 20): The prosecution in Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's criminal appeal has urged the Court of Appeal to look at the young politician's actions holistically, alluding to a malicious intent to misuse funds from Armada, the youth wing of Syed Saddiq’s former party, Bersatu.

This intent in itself, argued deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, fulfills the ingredients for the charge of abetment to commit criminal breach of trust (CBT), for which the 32-year-old politician was found guilty of at the lower court.

During submissions on Thursday, Wan Shaharuddin argued that the former youth and sports minister had given the instruction to withdraw party funds in the midst of a precarious situation in national politics and politics within the youth wing, and cited prosecution evidence Syed Saddiq had alluded that the money in the party's account was a result of his hard work (hasil titik peluh).

"The instruction given by [Syed Saddiq] to [then-]Armada assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali was closely related to the Sheraton Move. The testimonies of Rafiq and its then-assistant secretary Ahmad Redzuan Mohamed Shafi show that [Syed Saddiq] was concerned with the change of leadership in Armada and Bersatu before the withdrawal of the funds, and this shows his malicious intent in [instructing the withdrawal]. It was as though [Syed Saddiq considered the] party funds as his own when the instruction was made without any working paper," the DPP said.

Wan Shaharuddin added that while on the stand in his defence during the trial, Syed Saddiq denied issuing any such instruction, and said that the prosecution witnesses were lying.

However, on Thursday, Wan Shaharuddin countered: “To merely say that they are lying is not enough. What is their reason to lie? Until now, it is only speculation [that some prosecution witnesses] altered their evidence. But this is merely speculative.”

The appellate court is in the midst of hearing Syed Saddiq's appeal against the High Court's decision in November 2023, where he was found guilty of all four charges — one charge of abetting Rafiq in committing CBT by withdrawing RM 1 million of party funds, one charge of misappropriation of party funds of RM120,000, and two money-laundering charges.

High Court judge Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid had sentenced the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) co-founder to a total of seven years in prison, two strokes of the rotan, and a fine of RM10 million.

Wan Shahruddin went on to argue that in accordance with the law, the mere intention of abetment is sufficient to show that an offence was committed. On Wednesday, Syed Saddiq's counsel Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden had argued, among others, that the abetment of CBT charge fell short because it did not revolve around actual usage of the funds.

Yusof also stressed that the funds were used for party purposes, and not for his client's individual benefit. The defence has maintained that the RM1 million in this case was withdrawn in March 2020 and used for preparations to face the Covid-19 outbreak and also for Ramadan and Hari Raya, which were around the corner.

However, it is the prosecution's case that Syed Saddiq stood to gain politically from the misappropriation of the party funds.

The hearing on Thursday was cut short after Wan Shaharuddin complained of throat pain and sought an adjournment.

The panel — led by Court of Appeal (COA) judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, and accompanied by COA judges Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin — initially urged the DPP to continue, but given that it was Ramadan and that health matters were beyond one's control, the judges adjourned the appeal hearing.

The court has set April 17 to continue the hearing of the appeal. 

Read also:
Trial judge did not consider all evidence in Syed Saddiq case — defence lawyer
Syed Saddiq found guilty of all four charges in criminal trial involving misappropriation of Bersatu funds
Syed Saddiq sentenced to seven years in prison, two strokes of the rotan, RM10m fine in criminal case of misappropriating Bersatu funds
High Court: Sentence in Syed Saddiq's criminal case, which includes two strokes of the cane, not excessive