Syed Saddiq to sit out Johor polls campaign

PUTRAJAYA: Muda’s Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman says he will not join his party’s campaign for the Johor election as he is focused on clearing his name in court.

Syed Saddiq said he would have to wait another two weeks after the Federal Court deferred its decision on the prosecution’s appeal against his acquittal to July 13.

“Obviously, I hoped there would be finality today, especially after six gruelling years of seeking justice, but now I will have to wait another two weeks.

“During that time, I will continue working with my lawyers and family as we pursue the justice we seek in court. My priority is to clear my name,” he told reporters at the Palace of Justice today.

Johor goes to the polls on July 11, just two days before the new date for the apex court to deliver its verdict on the prosecution’s appeal. Muda is contesting four seats: Puteri Wangsa, Bukit Batu, Maharani, and Simpang Jeram.

Syed Saddiq’s lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, described the postponement as unprecedented.

“We have just been informed by His Lordship that the decision is ready, but cannot be delivered as one of the members of the quorum is unwell,” he said.

In 2021, Syed Saddiq was charged with abetting then Bersatu Youth assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali, who was entrusted with RM1 million in Bersatu Youth’s funds, to commit criminal breach of trust by misappropriating the money.

He was also accused of misappropriating RM120,000 from Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise’s Maybank Islamic Bhd account by making Rafiq dispose of the money.

The 33‑year‑old was also charged with two counts of money laundering, involving RM50,000 each – believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities – transferred from his Maybank Islamic account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account at a bank in Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

The High Court convicted Syed Saddiq of all charges, sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment, two strokes of the rotan, and a RM10 million fine. He subsequently stepped down as Muda president.

However, the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitted the founding Muda president in June last year, quashing his sentence.

The prosecution filed an appeal with the Federal Court in December, seeking to restore the conviction and sentence imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.