A violin owned and autographed by Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali sold for RM35,000 at a fundraising concert in Putrajaya tonight.

Bidding for the violin began at RM3,000, but a bidding war soon began between two members of the audience.

Retired financial planner Aziz Ibrahim, who would go on to win the auction, first escalated the bid to RM10,000.

A gentleman from his row then upped the ante, with bids increasing by almost RM5,000 each time, before Aziz made his final offer of RM35,000 to loud applause from the crowd.

Siti Hasmah, the wife of Pakatan Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had earlier in the night used the violin to perform two songs – Carlos Gardel’s ‘Por Una Cabeza’ and patriotic tune ‘Tanah Pusaka’.

Met later in the night, Aziz told reporters that his winning bid was just a small contribution to Mahathir and Siti Hasmah's struggle to capture Putrajaya.

"I'm proud of it, this is the least I can do for (Mahathir), I am a product of his (time).

"This is just a small contribution, everyone must support Mahathir," he said. 

The performance and auction were part of fundraising concert at the Perdana Leadership Foundation titled ‘Konsert Pencetus Perjuangan’.

Besides Siti Hasmah, Mahathir also performed, reciting a poem titled ‘Pakatan Harapan’. The final stanza of Mahathir's poem read:

Tolong lah kami untuk menolong kamu (Help us to help you)
Kerana akhirnya, nikmat usaha ini adalah untuk semua (For in the end, the fruits of this labour is for all of us)
Kami untuk kamu (We are for you)
Kamu untuk kami (You are for us)
Untuk bangsa, agama, dan negara (For race, religion, and country)
Sokong lah Pakatan Harapan. (Support Pakatan Harapan)

Another poem read out near the end of the night was titled ‘Terima kasih Mahathir’ (Thank you Mahathir).

Other performances included a rendition of Frank Sinatra's ‘My Way’, a song famously associated with Mahathir, as well a string quartet performance.

The night was capped with members of the audience waving the Malaysian flag to a performance of Ella song ‘Gemilang’.

Some 80 people attended tonight’s fundraiser, with tickets going for RM150 per seat.