PUTRAJAYA (June 30): Youth politician Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has arrived at the Federal Court for the final verdict in his criminal case related to the misuse of political party funds.

The Muar member of Parliament (MP) was flanked by his family and his fiancée — actress and singer Bella Astillah, whose real name is Dayang Ara Nabellah Awang Astillah.  

The politician who turns 34 this year did not address the media scrum, before heading to the court room.

Also present for show of support was fellow Pakatan Harapan ally, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh. Notably, Putrajaya MP Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and former Parliament speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun were also present to show their support.

A three-member panel, led by Court of Appeal (COA) president Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, is slated to deliver its decision in the prosecution's final appeal, which will determine if the politician remains a free man or will have to serve jail time.

During the two-day hearing of the appeal back in December last year, Abu Bakar had indicated that all three judges in the panel — which includes Federal Court judges Datuk Che Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah — will write and issue their own grounds of judgement.

The appeal hearing also concluded in an unprecedented move, with the bench giving parties a one-week “cooling-off” period to reconsider the entire appeal.

“Both parties should go back and reflect on your positions. Do you still believe the appeal needs to be decided by the court?” said Abu Bakar, who is currently the second-most senior judge within the judiciary.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, wrote to the court saying that Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar had instructed for the prosecution to continue with the appeal. Syed Saddiq’s team of lawyers is led by Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.
 
In November 2023, the High Court had found Syed Saddiq guilty on all four charges of misuse of political funds, and sentenced him to a total of seven years in prison, two strokes of the rotan, and a fine of RM10 million.

The COA then overturned the verdict and sentence in June 2025.

On Tuesday (June 30), the Federal Court can either unanimously dismiss the prosecution’s appeal, which will mean that Syed Saddiq will remain a free man, or it can allow the prosecution’s appeal, which will mean that Syed Saddiq will begin serving his sentence.

However, Syed Saddiq’s fate could also be determined by a majority decision.

Should the decision be unfavourable to the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) co-founder, he still has an avenue to file a review. 

Although the Federal Court is the final avenue for some appeals, on rare occasions, parties can apply for a review of the decision made by an earlier bench.

A different panel of judges will then preside over the review hearing. However, one must first seek leave (permission) before the case is heard substantially.

Among high-profile review cases in the past are imprisoned former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s failed review bid against the conviction and sentence in his SRC International Sdn Bhd case back in 2023.

More recently, there was also former Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) chairman Datuk Mohd Isa Abdul Samad’s failed review last Friday (June 26).

In both cases, the different panels found that there was no miscarriage of justice that warranted a review.

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Syed Saddiq succeeds in appeal over misuse of Bersatu funds, criminal conviction overturned
Syed Saddiq found guilty of all four charges in criminal trial involving misappropriation of Bersatu funds