THE Federal Court heard arguments on Thursday in a high-profile case that could have wide-ranging implications for the handling of political donations in Malaysia.
The Deputy Public Prosecutor has warned that accepting a legal argument allowing donations to be transferred into personal accounts could effectively legalise such practices for politicians.
During the appeal hearing to overturn the acquittal of former Minister of Youth and Sports, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, 33, Datuk Ahmad Akram Gharib argued that permitting campaign donations to be moved to personal accounts would open the door for others to do the same.
“If the Court of Appeal’s interpretation is upheld, parties can transfer campaign contributions into their own accounts and then claim them as personal funds,” he said.
He described the Court of Appeal’s statement that “the money belongs to the appellant” as a “dangerous issue”, warning that it undermines the fiduciary principle linking the purpose for which funds are raised to personal control.
“The prosecution regards the Court of Appeal’s view as eroding the trust element that underpins misappropriation offences,” he added, emphasising that funds collected for a specific purpose belong either to the donors or the collective fund until properly applied.
Ahmad Akram, accompanied in court by a team of prosecutors including Datuk Wan Shaharudin Wan Ladin, Farah Ezlin Yusop Khan, Law Chin How, Nurul Qistini Qamarul Abrar, Muhammad Asraf Mohamed Tahir and Wan Nur Iman Wan Ahmad Afzal, further argued that donations cannot automatically be considered the personal property of the beneficiary until fiduciary duties are fulfilled.
He insisted that the Court of Appeal erred in framing the donations as a form of exchange rather than misappropriation or breach of trust. “The donations were entrusted property, and as officeholder, Syed Saddiq had a fiduciary responsibility over them. The offence under Section 403 of the Penal Code is complete the moment the funds are moved under his personal control, regardless of subsequent claims that the money was used as reimbursement,” he said.
Ahmad Akram stressed that the funds remained the property of others until used for their intended purpose.
“A fiduciary cannot unilaterally convert entrusted money into personal ownership,” he said, criticising the Court of Appeal for ruling that the donations belonged to the former Armada leader solely because they were raised for his election campaign.
The hearing, before a three-judge panel led by the President of the Court of Appeal, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, sitting with Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah, will continue on Friday.
Syed Saddiq’s defence team is represented by a team of prominent lawyers, including Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Kee Wei Lon, S Devanandan, Low Wei Loke, Lim Wei Jiet, Siti Summaiyah Ahmad Jaafar, Mohammed Khairuzzaman Mohammed Ridha, Ee Gen You and Nevyn Vinosh Venudran. - December 11, 2025
