KUALA LUMPUR – After being accused of extravagant spending during recent polls, Muda has revealed it spent only about RM45,000 per seat for the 19 seats it contested during the six state elections in August.
Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the party relied on crowd funding for the election and had successfully raised RM1.128 million, which was 75.2% of their target of RM1.5 million.
“I want to share this so that you know this is not a party that is spending extravagantly (as claimed by others). People around me have told me that RM45,000 (average per seat) is too small of an amount, but for Muda, we think that this is a good amount.
“Though it can be improved, especially so that our average support was at 5% (in the six state elections). I think we can do better and from here, we will grow as a party and conduct various programmes to raise funds for the party,” he said.
He stressed the party did not receive all cash from the amount, as 60% of the donations were received in the form of campaign materials such as banners and poles.
“However, we only used about 76% of the funds raised because parts of the donations were made at the very last minute (before the election). The remaining funds will be carried forward (for the next election),” he said.
Speaking at a press conference today, Syed Saddiq revealed the party’s expenditure during the six state elections and details of the funds raised for the Mari Bantu campaign the party launched to raise funds for flood victims.
He added that the party’s election expenditure report would be included in its financial report, which would then be presented during the party’s annual general meeting and audited by two auditors.
Meanwhile, Syed Saddiq said the Mari Bantu project, which was launched in December 2021, is now being audited by a reputable international auditing firm, with all related receipts and supporting documents already submitted to the firm.
He said the project had raised RM2.1 million from about 45,000 donors nationwide, and each donor would have received an email that would explain the breakdown of how the funds have been used, as well as an update about the auditing of the Mari Bantu funds.
The expenditures include allocation for state flood (RM566,571); cleaning tools (RM427,123); and logistics (RM163,592), among others.
Syed Saddiq explained that the Mari Bantu project involving 10 states throughout the country had started on December 17, 2021, raising its first RM1 million from December 20 to 22, and then its second million on December 26, 2021 with the mission to help flood victims in Pahang.
The mission continued with several other projects, including Projek Bangkit (Pahang flood aftermath), Projek Langkah (donated school shoes), and Projek Teduh (build a house for victims in Hulu Langat).
He explained that the delays in the audit report were caused by several obstacles, including that all the projects, including the last project Projek Teduh, must be completed before the auditing process can commence.
“I want to make it clear because there have been allegations that Muda has been using donations for flood victims for election, and the party has lavish spending. No. Flood (donations) is for flood. All the donations for the flood have been used for flood (victims). There is no bringing forward for election purposes.
“We have submitted all the proofs and documents to the auditing firm. Now, we wait for the finalised result from the firm,” he added. – November 2, 2023