The fund set up to help the families of 13 activists who were jailed for protesting against the Perak coup has only achieved 30 percent of its target.

The NGO raising the funds is called Engage and its chairperson Thomas Fann said today some 180 donors have responded generously since the fund was launched and it has so far collected RM79,965.92.

However, the amount still falls short of the targeted RM260,000.

The "Friends of Perak 13 Fund" aims to provide a cash aid of RM2,000 every month for the 13 families, from April 2015 till January 2016.

“Some gave RM50 and pledged to give that amount for the next nine months. However, many gave one-off donations of RM500 or more.

"While the response from the public so far is very encouraging, we are still short of our target.

"With the amount collected so far, we can only give RM615 each month to the 13 families for 10 months," Fann said in a statement today.

The fund is being overseen by a Board of Overseers comprising eminent figures, including Ambiga Sreenevasan, Maria Chin Abdullah, Toh Kin Woon and Azmi Sharom.

Fann said the board is to ensure that 100 percent of funds collected will go to the rightful family members.

In any event of a surplus, he said, a separate "Freedom Fund" would be set up to provide financial assistance for similar cases.

"However, should we fall short of the target, the amount will be divided equally between the 13 families," he said.

Jailed for protesting against Perak MB

The Perak 13 were jailed on Wednesday after failing in their appeal to the Court of Appeal, which upheld their conviction but reduced their jail terms from two years to 10 months.

They were also fined RM5,000 each.

In February 2009 they took part in a demonstration to block BN’s Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir from swearing in as the menteri besar of Perak.

BN took over the state government after after three assemblypersons, two from PKR and one from DAP  quit their parties to become BN-friendly Independent representatives.

The 13 are:

Mohd Faiz Mohd Arshad, 27;

Zulhaizam Zulkifli, 30;

Meor Safizal Meor Mohamed Amin, 40;

Adi Hilmee Mohd Nasir, 45;

Mohamed Ismail S M Abdul Kadir, 48;

Bad Latif Mansor, 48;

Mohamad Nazeer Hameed, 49;

Khairul Azmi Hassan Basr, 49;

Mohd Hasri Ismail, 49;

Yusuf Jaafar, 49;

Idris Mohd Thaib 49;

Suhana Abdullah, 50; and

Isha Riduan Ishak, 60.

Fann said Suhana, the sole woman jailed, is a single mother with three daughters, one of whom, aged 19, is mentally handicapped and needed constant care and medication.

"With Suhana in prison, her parents have to look after the children. Suhana worked as a cleaner in a mosque in Perak," he said.

Those who wish to contribute can make their pledge here and the collection can be publicly viewed here .

All donations should be deposited in the Maybank account 501271441377, which is under Engage Network, said Fann.

Donors are also requested to email perak13fund@gmail.com to notify their donations.

Help support the fund for families of Perak 13