Syed Saddiq to appeal against criminal conviction after getting written judgement from M'sia High Court

Malaysian Member of Parliament and former Minister of Youth and Sports Syed Saddiq, 31, said on Nov. 29 that he will file an appeal against the Malaysian High Court's decision to convict him of criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering.

The full grounds of judgment were made available on Nov. 28.

This comes more than a year after Saddiq was convicted on Nov. 9, 2023.

Saddiq said he wanted his appeal to be heard "as soon as possible"

Saddiq said in a Facebook post that he has "always insisted" on clearing his name in court.

"Today, after anxiously waiting for more than 386 days, I have finally received the written judgment from the Yang Arif High Court Judge, which will allow me to commence my appeal in court," he said.

"Although I have had many opportunities to get my case dropped, I chose not to pursue them because I strongly believe that no one, not even the powerful, should be above the law."

The Muar Member of Parliament said he had instructed his lawyers to file an appeal, noting that he wanted it to be heard "as soon as possible".

Saddiq said he pledged to respect the judiciary as an institution, no matter how painful or unjust he may perceive the verdict to be.

Saddiq, former leader of Malaysian political party MUDA, was found guilty of misappropriating funds belonging to Armada, the youth wing of his former party Bersatu.

The trial started in Jun. 21, 2022.

Saddiq was found guilty of four charges by the Malaysian High Court on Nov. 9, 2023, and was sentenced to seven years in jail, two strokes of the cane, as well as a RM10 million fine (S$2.9 million).

However, Saddiq was granted a stay of execution pending appeal.

Justice Azhar's sentencing

Justice Azhar Abdul Hamid said it was unreasonable for Saddiq, a political youth wing leader at that time, to be ignorant of the RM1 million (S$300,000) that was withdrawn from the bank account of Armada, The Star reported.

The judge also added that Saddiq's denial of knowledge of money being deposited and the use of the money was also hard to understand.

Saddiq previously claimed that the money deposited into his personal account was a reimbursement for having used his own cash, but Justice Azhar said he found no evidence to support such claim.

He said that Saddiq's young age and the fact that he was a first-time offender were considered in sentencing.

Justice Azhar said as an MP and an idol to the youth, Saddiq should be held to a higher standard as an example to the young ones.

Top image via Syed Saddiq/Facebook