Non-governmental organisation Yayasan Patriot Negara (YPN) has contributed RM650,000 to the Tabung Harapan Malaysia national debt fund.

It said the amount was collected through various fund-raising activities including the sale of the “Patriot” car registration plate series.

YPN chief executive officer Muhammad Zharif Johor said their collection for Tabung Harapan had exceeded expectations by more than a 100 percent.

"At first, we were targeting RM250,000 of which we had contributed RM50,000 as of June 1.

"The accumulated RM650,000 thus far has exceeded our target and we believe it's the highest contribution to the fund by an NGO," he said.

Muhammad Zharif was speaking after handing over a mock cheque for the amount replica to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the Bersatu headquarters in Petaling Jaya.

As of Wednesday, the fund, established by Mahathir to help reduce the previous government's debt, stood at RM153.93 million.