Witness says Syed Saddiq told him to ‘clear’ RM1 million due to MACC probe

The former assistant treasurer of Bersatu’s Youth wing told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had instructed him to “clear” or dispose of RM1 million withdrawn from the party’s account as the Muar MP was being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Rafiq Hakim Razali, 32, said he received a WhatsApp call from Syed Saddiq around March and the end of April saying that MACC had conducted an inspection and search at the politician’s residence.

The 13th prosecution witness said Syed Saddiq also instructed him to distribute RM650,000 to Federal Territory Bersatu Youth information chief Muhammad Daniel Kusari and RM250,000 to Muhammad Naqib Ab Rahim, a Bersatu member at the time.

“He (Syed Saddiq) instructed him to ‘clear’ the money which I was holding at that time, and because of this, I distributed it to Naqib and Daniel,” he said during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin at the trial of Syed Saddiq, who faces four charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering.

When asked why Syed Saddiq had asked him to “clear” the money, Rafiq Hakim replied: “He (Syed Saddiq) was afraid the money would be confiscated.”

He also said the RM1 million was kept in his house before being distributed to Daniel and Naqib.

Wan Shaharuddin: Where was the RM250,000 and RM650,000 distributed from?

Rafiq Hakim: In the area around my house.

Wan Shaharuddin: Where did the RM250,000 and RM650,000 come from?

Rafiq Hakim: The money came from the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia Armada account (and) from a withdrawal of RM1 million.

Wan Shahruddin: By right, it should have been RM900,000, (so) what happened to the (remaining) RM100,000?

Rafiq Hakim: To my recollection, I used it for Armada programmes and those were all instructions from Syed Saddiq.

Asked if he would have withdrawn the money if he had not received any instruction from Syed Saddiq to do so, Rafiq Hakim replied: “No.”

He said prior to making the RM1 million withdrawal, Syed Saddiq had asked him about the account balance, to which he replied that there was about RM1.8 million.

When asked by Wan Shaharuddin whether Rafiq Hakim understood what was meant by the MACC investigation, Rafiq Hakim replied: “At that time there was the case of the missing RM250,000 and the MACC had come to Syed Saddiq’s house to investigate.”

Rafiq Hakim said he only knew that Syed Saddiq had lost RM250,000 from his house safe, adding that the politician had not said that the money belonged to his parents or was meant for house renovation payments, but only that it was from political donations.

To another question, the witness said he was still friends with Syed Saddiq, and had met the politician during Ramadan where they discussed a baju Melayu project at Syed Saddiq’s house.

“Syed Saddiq also agreed to carry out the baju Melayu project,” Rafiq Hakim added.

Wan Shaharuddin: At that time, did he (Syed Saddiq) say anything about the order not to meet any (case) witnesses?

Rafiq Hakim: No.

Syed Saddiq was charged as Bersatu’s then Youth chief, entrusted with the control of the wing’s funds, with abetting Rafiq Hakim with CBT of RM1 million.

He was accused of committing the offence at CIMB Bank, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2, on March 6, 2020, charged under Section 406 of the Penal Code which provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a whipping, with the possibility of a fine upon conviction.

For the second charge, Syed Saddiq was accused of misusing property for himself, namely RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise by causing Rafiq to dispose of the money.

He was accused of committing the offence at Malayan Banking, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya between April 8 and 21, 2018, and charged under Section 403 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of between six months and five years, with whipping and a fine upon conviction.

He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities, in two transactions of RM50,000 believed to be the proceeds of unlawful activities from his Maybank Islamic account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.

Syed Saddiq was accused of committing the offence at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.