Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin said this could be inferred from the conduct of the appellant, Syed Saddiq, soon after the “Sheraton Move” took place in early 2020.
The Sheraton Move refers to a political move that took place in February 2020 which led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government, which at the time included Bersatu, after only 22 months in power.
Wan Shaharuddin said Syed Saddiq told several youth members that the funds kept in the bank account were raised solely through his efforts as head of Armada, the Bersatu youth wing.
The prosecutor said Syed Saddiq had admitted that there was turmoil in the youth wing at the time.
“There was also an impending change in the Bersatu leadership,” he said in submissions before a three-member bench chaired by Justice Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim.
Also on the bench hearing the former youth and sports minister’s appeal were Justices Azman Abdullah and Noorin Badaruddin.
Following the Sheraton Move, the Pakatan Harapan coalition — which came into power in May 2018 — was ousted, with prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed tendering his resignation.
Bersatu MPs led by Muhyiddin Yassin and a faction within PKR led by former deputy president and Gombak MP Azmin Ali, MPs from PAS, Sarawak and independents formed a new government.
Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister on March 1.
Bersatu later sacked its chairman, Mahathir, and four other MPs for not supporting the Perikatan Nasional government led by Muhyiddin. Syed Saddiq, who was in Mahathir’s Cabinet, also refused to pledge his support for Muhyiddin and went on to form Muda.
Wan Shaharuddin said Syed Saddiq instructed Rafiq Hakim Razali, the Bersatu Youth assistant treasurer at the time, to “clear” the RM1 million from the bank.
“The offence of abetment was committed when he commanded Rafiq to perform the act of withdrawal following the Sheraton Move,” he said.
He said Rafiq and then Bersatu Youth assistant secretary Ahmad Redzuan Shafi were credible prosecution witnesses and the trial judge had accepted their evidence though Syed Saddiq claimed they had lied to save themselves.
“His testimony was not proven and remained mere speculation and conjecture,” he added.
Wan Shaharuddin said both witnesses, although accomplices, were granted immunity under Section 52 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act 2009.
He said Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid, who presided over the trial, had undertaken a maximum evaluation of the evidence when calling for Syed Saddiq to enter his defence and later in convicting him.
“In the present appeal, the defence has painted a picture that Azhar’s judgment was fundamentally lacking.”
Wan Shaharuddin urged the bench to re-examine the evidence of witnesses and uphold the conviction.
“An appellate court should be slow to overturn the finding of fact by the trial judge who had the audio-visual benefit of determining the demeanour of witnesses,” he said.
Hearing was adjourned to April 17 after Wan Shaharuddin complained of throat pain.
On Nov 9, 2023, Azhar found Syed Saddiq guilty of abetting in criminal breach of trust (CBT) amounting to RM1 million and dishonest misappropriation of RM120,000.
For the CBT charge, the court imposed a three-year jail term and ordered that Syed Saddiq receive one stroke of the rotan.
He was sentenced to two years in jail and another stroke of the cane on the misappropriation charge and an additional two-year imprisonment term for each of the money laundering offences.
The court ordered that the jail terms for CBT and dishonest misappropriation run consecutively, while those handed down for money laundering offences run concurrently.
As a result, Syed Saddiq would have to serve five years in jail. The sentence was stayed by the High Court pending the former Muda president’s appeal.
In his 22-page grounds of judgment released on Nov 28 last year, Azhar said the sentences pronounced on Syed Saddiq were not excessive as the court had taken into account his status as a public figure and a role model for the youth.