KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said today he accepts the High Court's decision today and is ready to enter his defence over the four charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT), misappropriation of funds and money laundering.
The former youth and sports minister vowed to clear his name, insisting that his spirits have not been dampened in the run-up to the 15th general election (GE15).
"This is my opportunity to prove my innocence by giving my sworn testimony in court. I joined politics to clean the scene and fight for the people's rights so despite all that's happened my spirits and principles are still strong," the incumbent Muar MP told members of the media after his hearing.
"I will be calling sworn witnesses for my defence to tell my side of the story so that justice can win and justice is fair."
When asked if he would still compete in Muar for Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) in GE15, Syed Saddiq said he would have a discussion with the party first.
"I look forward to clearing my name in court but from Muda's perspective what we will do is call for a meeting immediately after this to discuss this," he said.
"I'd like to bring this out to my party because I am a party man and principals come first in politics."
Syed Saddiq was called to enter his defence on four charges of CBT and misappropriation of funds. He was charged with aiding and abetting his former assistant treasurer from Armada Rafiq Hakim Razali, in withdrawing more than RM1 million in Armada funds without the party's approval.
He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities, namely two transactions of RM50,000, believed to be proceeds of unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account, on June 16 and 19, 2018.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid fixed February 22 as the first trial.
