Syed Saddiq said he had advanced RM170,000 from his own savings in his quest to win the Muar parliamentary seat in Johor.

In his evidence yesterday, the second term MP said a sum of RM30,000 was collected in Muar on April 7, 2018 and another RM90,000 at an event at a hotel in Ampang, Selangor, the following day.

“The fundraiser was done in my personal capacity as Bersatu was deregistered just before the general election in May 2018,” he said during re-examination by lawyer Gobind Singh Deo.

The RM120,000 was deposited into Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s (ABBE) bank account which belonged to then Bersatu Youth assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali.

It was later transferred in tranches into Syed Saddiq’s personal account, from which a sum of RM100,000 was transferred into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) account.

Gobind: The prosecution takes the position that the RM120,000 and RM170,000 are separate (matters). Can you explain?

Syed Saddiq: I advanced my own money for the election campaign which amounted to RM170,000. I asked Rafiq to transfer RM120,000 because that was money raised to cover election expenses.

He said he did not need to give Rafiq details of the expenses since Rafiq was neither a member of the fundraising committee nor helped him during the election campaign.

Syed Saddiq also said he was not obliged to inform anyone when RM100,000 was moved from his bank account into his ASB account.

The Muda president also denied committing any offence when RM1 million was removed from the Bersatu Youth’s bank account to help members nationwide in Covid-19 programmes, as well as for Ramadan and Hari Raya activities in 2020.

Syed Saddiq, 30, is charged with abetting Rafiq in committing criminal breach of trust (CBT) of RM1 million at CIMB Bank Bhd, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2 here on March 6, 2020.

He is also charged with misusing RM120,000 from the bank account belonging to ABBE for himself by causing Rafiq to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking Bhd, Taman Pandan Jaya here between April 8 and April 21, 2018.

He is facing another two counts of money laundering involving two transactions of RM50,000 each, believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, transferred from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his ASB account at a bank in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

The hearing before Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid continues tomorrow.