Syed Saddiq was under pressure to support Muhyiddin - parents
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s father and mother testified that their son was put under pressure to support then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The former youth and sports minister’s parents testified this during today’s trial against the Muar MP over alleged misappropriation and money laundering of more than RM1 million in funds from Bersatu’s Youth wing.
As the accused looked on from the dock...
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s father and mother testified that their son was put under pressure to support then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The former youth and sports minister’s parents testified this during today’s first day of trial against the Muar MP over alleged misappropriation and money laundering of more than RM1 million in funds from Bersatu’s Youth wing.
As the accused looked on from the dock, his father Syed Abdul Rahman Alsagoff told the Kuala Lumpur High Court about the alleged pressure.
“I honestly said that the support for Muhyiddin was thin then (in 2020) and it was certain my son would be oppressed (dianiaya) as his politics were not in line with that of Tan Sri (Muhyiddin).
“I know my son is stern and of high integrity and I advised him to move forward and to maintain a strong and honest stance,” Syed Rahman said during cross-examination by defence counsel Gobind Singh Deo.
When Gobind asked whether Syed Saddiq (above) was being investigated as coercion to support Muhyiddin, the second prosecution witness agreed.
The accused’s mother, Sharifah Mahani Syed Abdul Aziz, in turn, testified that MACC officers who questioned her as part of the investigation against her son had “jokingly advised” her to tell her son to just support the then PN government in 2020.
“As a mother, my heart stopped (tersentap) when the (MACC) officer told me it would be better if I advise my son to just follow the then government so that my husband and I would not be investigated anymore,” Sharifah claimed.
“As a mother, I love my son and know about his sacrifice, it is not easy, I regard my son as a political victim,” she testified.
‘Syed Saddiq warned us’
To a question from Gobind whether Syed Saddiq was being pressured to support the then government under Muhyiddin, she agreed.
She claimed that Syed Saddiq had expressed concern over her and her husband’s welfare over the investigation, warning them that the authorities would come to them over his political decision.
The retired teacher testified that she suffered pressure from the MACC officers asking her about her source of income from giving tuition, as she feared losing her pension as a fallout from the incident.
“I got (diagnosed with) cancer in July 2020 due to the stress I went through,” testified the third prosecution witness.
Gobind informed trial judge Azhar Abdul Hamid that the parents’ testimonies are in line with the defence’s contention that the case against Syed Saddiq was to compel him to support the then government.
Then premier Muhyiddin was and still is Bersatu president. Syed Saddiq used to be the party’s youth chief before he was expelled in late 2020 and went on to form youth-based political party Muda.
Muhyiddin not mentioned by MACC officers
Later, during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin, Syed Rahman, 69, conceded that he did not personally hear any alleged threats against his son.
The father said that he surmised from the troubled look on his son’s face that the latter was facing alleged political persecution.
While under questioning by Wan Shaharuddin, Sharifah, 62, conceded that the MACC officers who questioned her back then did not mention Muhyiddin’s name.
She testified that it was based on her fear and concern as a mother for her son’s safety and welfare.
Proceedings before Azhar will continue tomorrow.
Previously at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, Syed Saddiq claimed trial to two charges of misappropriation involving RM1.12 million from Bersatu’s youth wing.
The former Bersatu Youth chief also pleaded not guilty to two counts of abetting money laundering, whereby each alleged transaction involved RM50,000.
According to the two abetment charges framed under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, he was accused of being involved in the transfer of the funds on two occasions on June 16 and 19, 2018.
On each occasion at Maybank Islamic Berhad, Taman Perling in Johor Bahru, he was alleged to have transferred RM50,000 from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account to his Amanah Saham Bumiputera account.
The four charges were later transferred to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
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