Shafie was arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in relation to investigations into graft amounting to RM1.5 billion.
The Star reported today that photographs showing youth chief Azis Jamman and vice-president Peter Anthony on a flight to Kuala Lumpur, had caused a stir among netizens.
Many questioned why the party was collecting funds from the public when its leaders were travelling business class.
Shafie, a former rural and regional development minister, was arrested on Oct 19 after he went to the MACC office to give a statement in connection with several ministry projects during his tenure there from 2009 to 2015.
The Semporna MP was released on bail on Oct 27 following eight days in remand in connection with the alleged misappropriation of RM1.5 billion allocated for rural development projects in Sabah.
Magistrate Cindy Mc Juce Balitus ordered him to be released on RM100,000 bail with RM80,000 to be deposited under sureties.
Warisan reportedly started the crowd-funding campaign on Oct 25 to collect funds for Shafie’s bail, with The Star reporting that some RM112,000 had been collected.
The photographs of the two Warisan leaders were uploaded on Azis’s Facebook page. It showed Azis flying with Peter from Sabah to Kuala Lumpur to attend a Parliament sitting where Shafie was supposed to deliver a speech.
Facebook user Shaiful Thani said the party would have created a better image for themselves if only their leaders had sat in economy class.
Another user, QKadir Hamdan, appeared to mock the leaders, uploading a graphic in which Warisan is quoted calling on people to stop contributing to the fund as Shafie has been freed. “Stop the donations. Because we want to go on business class,” he said in an accompanying text.
Muhammad Yafi however reasoned that sometimes economy-class seats were fully booked, forcing those who needed to travel urgently to pay more to fly business class.