[UPDATED] Accounts of crowdfund to be made public once SSR suit settled: Undi18

KUALA LUMPUR – Young voters’ movement Undi18 has promised that the flow of funds gathered to aid Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) members will be made public once the latter’s suit against the authorities is settled.

Undi18 said that the funds are currently being utilised to finance SSR’s suit, filed last year, against the government and police for alleged wrongful arrests during a Covid-19 victims’ vigil held at Dataran Merdeka here last year.

“Crowdfunding for SSR has been shared multiple times with coalition organisations, including receipt tracking. There is collective ownership of the funds by member organisations,” Undi18 said in a statement today.

“Accounting (of SSR’s crowdfunded resources) will be made public once the suit is concluded.”

The assurance comes amid allegations issued by an anonymous newsletter published by a group known as Intersections Malaysia.

One of the issues highlighted in the newsletter yesterday was how SSR has yet to release a detailed account of funds crowdsourced in August last year.

Citing Companies Commission of Malaysia documents, the newsletter also claimed that Undi18 co-founders Tharma Pillai and Nur Qyira Yusri are listed as directors and owners of a private company called Reimagine Now Sdn Bhd. 

The company’s secretaries, according to the newsletter, are Kuantan MCA member Lee Chai Wah and Muhammad Azam Susyairi Che Soh.

Azam is allegedly part of numerous companies linked with Umno leader and incumbent Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. 

Located in Menara Centara, Reimagine Now shares the same address as Undi18 Productions LLP as well as strategy, political, and business advisors Progredior Consulting, where former senator and ex-Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun is a president and joint managing partner. 

The newsletter also stated that it was approached by former Undi18 campaigners who claimed that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) payments were not included in their contracts.  

Addressing the matters brought up by the newsletter, Undi18 appeared to take the allegations in its stride by brushing aside the connotations that the organisation has links with Barisan Nasional. 

“Our company secretary was recommended by our company auditor… we are based in a shared office space (where) multiple companies are using and have used the space,” it said in the statement today. 

“We adhere to labour laws, particularly on EPF payments. All of our full-time employees receive their monthly EPF payments.” – The Vibes, October 31, 2022