THE RM1 million withdrawn from a Bersatu account was used to deliver aid to parliamentary constituencies under the party, said Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

“As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Armada decided it would withdraw funds to be used to give basic items for the Bersatu parliamentary constituencies.

“All the expenditures have been recorded,” said the former Youth and Sports Minister on Facebook live tonight.

He denied that he had withdrawn the money unilaterally and that it was only done after it was agreed upon by the Bersatu youth committee.

“Moreover, I didn’t even sign the cheque. The signees were the treasurer and secretary,” said Syed Saddiq, who was sacked by Bersatu for refusing to support Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin after the Sheraton coup last year.

“I did not use the money for personal use. The breakdown for the RM1 million expenditure is there.”

Syed Saddiq, who was one of the founders of Bersatu, said that the allegations against him were unfair.

“In all the time I was in Bersatu, the president (Muhyiddin) has never raised Bersatu’s financial issues at the supreme council meetings.

“Although, millions were raised for the by-elections, such as Tg Piai, the matter was never discussed at the party meetings. So, where is the fairness?

“In this respect, I want to thank former Bersatu chairman for agreeing to be a witness for me,” said the 29-year-old politician, referring to Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Syed Saddiq was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court with two counts of misappropriating his former party funds to the sum of RM1.12 million today.

In the first charge, the Muar MP is accused of misappropriating RM1 million via a CIMB cheque, at CIMB Bank, KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, on March 6 last year.

He is charged under Section 405 of the penal code for criminal breach of trust and faces up to 10 years in jail, caning and a fine if found guilty for the first charge.

In the second charge, he is accused of withdrawing RM120,000 from Maybank Islamic Bhd in Taman Pandan Jaya, Kuala Lumpur in April 2018.

The Muda president has pleaded not guilty to both charges. – July 22, 2021.