Politicians are normal human beings no less. They have needs, wants, personal relationships and ambitions to do well in life. In a job that is no less predictable than being a soldier at war, politicians are financially an insecure bunch. Not enough with having to fight tooth-and-nail to win the voters’ support every five years, politicians have to be mindful that losing an election would also mean losing a source of income and power.
Having secured their position and power through the ballot box, remaining incumbents has proven to be harder. And what are the odds of maintaining one’s incumbency? It partly depends on how much money a politician is willing to spend on campaigning.
Money is the flesh and blood of politics. With meagre statutory allocation to fund a politician’s campaign, a politician has no choice but to fundraise his own. In more established parties, this additional capital would often come from the party’s treasury account. When the stakes are high, we have seen first-hand how far Najib Razak went to secure victory for his coalition. Sure enough, the then Barisan Nasional had to rely on more than just the treasury.
It was not a pretty sight when hordes of cash were discovered by the police at Najib Razak’s residences. It is a scene that we are usually accustomed to seeing in Hollywood mafia movies. Since then, the Rakyat are more wary of politicians who are busted red-handed doing the same.
But when a first-time MP and formerly the country’s youngest Minister explained that his “stolen” RM250,000 worth of cash was his family’s, many had taken aback by YB Saddiq’s lack of clarity in his version of truth. This was more so when many of his supporters had previously thought that the RM250,000 was for his Bersatu Youth Wing’s first election.
In YB Saddiq’s statements to the media, he claimed that RM90,000 was his, with the remaining RM50,000 and RM70,000 belonging to his mother and father respectively. YB Saddiq explained that most of the stolen cash was meant to renovate a house which he co-owns with his parents.
While this purpose is well and fine, it is worth putting some sense into his narrative to better understand the bigger picture. In normal circumstances of planning a house renovation, it is uncommon for payments to be made in lumpsum. They are usually made in several phases – mainly as a carrot-and-stick measure to ensure that the contractor is doing a good job within a certain timeframe.
By that logic, would it make sense to put all of the allocated amount in a safe box?
As YB Saddiq’s parents would usually be in JB instead of in Klang Valley, wouldn’t it be more reasonable for the parents to transfer their hard-earned money via online banking instead?
Given the lengthy period of house renovation and furnishing, wouldn’t it be safer to keep the money in a joint bank account instead?
The Rakyat deserves more answers from our young gun. For a start, YB Saddiq has to prove the details of his renovations, including the identity of the assigned contractor and relevant invoices. As far as it stands, we don’t even know if YB Saddiq is telling the truth.
It is well and good that Saddiq uses his influence and followers in MUDA to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the public, but it is clear to many that the evidence in court will be much harder to brush off.
It is timely for YB Saddiq to provide these details to clear his name from questionable money trails.
Good luck with your case, YB Saddiq.
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