Former Malaysian youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq's crowdfunding campaign has raised around RM715,573.77 (S$230,453) to pay for his legal costs and bail for charges of misappropriating funds from his former political party Bersatu.

Indebted to donors

The Muar Member of Parliament (MP) revealed that the amount, which was more than double the bail of RM330,000 (S$106,319) set by the court, came from a total of 9,836 donors.

Ending his crowdfunding campaign, he thanked the donors on his social media accounts, and added that he is "forever indebted" to them.

"I will never stop until we succeed to build a Malaysia for all Malaysians," he said.

Recounting an incident where a man visited his office to donate RM100 (S$32), Syed Saddiq said he "felt like crying", and that he's reminded of why he joined politics during "moments like this".

Pled not guilty to charges

The 29-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the two alleged offences of misappropriation.

He was accused of allegedly withdrawing RM1 million of Bersatu's funds without prior approval from the party's leadership, as well as dishonestly misappropriating RM120,000 (S$38,661) worth of funds for the 14th general election called for Bersatu Youth in 2018.

Syed Saddiq addressed the charges against him in an Instagram live on Thursday (July 22), and claimed that former Bersatu chairman and two-time prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is willing to testify on his behalf in court.

Top image via Syed Saddiq/Facebook