The Federal Court of Malaysia postponed its final verdict on Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s corruption appeal on June 30, 2026, due to the illness of Justice Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, who was on medical leave for two days [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The three-member panel, led by Court of Appeal President Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Jais, had completed its decision but deferred announcement due to the absence of one judge [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 5]. The verdict delivery has been rescheduled for July 13, pending the parties’ availability [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 6, 8, 9, 5].

Syed Saddiq is the MP for Muar and former youth and sports minister [10, 1, 2, 11]. He faced four charges involving misuse of political party funds linked to Bersatu’s youth wing Armada, including criminal breach of trust, dishonest misappropriation, and money laundering [10, 1, 2, 11]. The charges relate to RM1 million withdrawn in March 2020, RM120,000 allegedly misused in April 2018, and two counts of RM50,000 money laundering in June 2018 [1, 2]. Syed Saddiq maintains his innocence, stating the funds were used for party welfare programs such as Covid-19 relief and Hari Raya events [1]. The prosecution says the withdrawals were intended to strengthen his position amid internal party turmoil [1].

In November 2023, the High Court convicted Syed Saddiq on all four charges, sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment, two strokes of the rotan, and a RM10 million fine [10, 2, 11]. However, in June 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned that conviction and acquitted him unanimously [10, 2, 11]. The prosecution then filed a final appeal to the Federal Court seeking to reinstate the High Court’s verdict [10, 11, 6].

Syed Saddiq expressed disappointment at the postponement but said he respects the decision and remains patient. “I want to obtain justice not through shortcuts or special treatment, but through a process based on facts and evidence under the judicial institution itself,” he said [3]. He added he has been fighting for justice for six years and emphasized his complete acquittal by the Court of Appeal [12].

His lawyer, Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, called the postponement "unprecedented" in his experience, saying the decision was ready but could not be delivered due to the judge’s illness [8, 9]. Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin urged patience and sent well wishes for the judge’s recovery, saying, “We pray that judge Datuk Che Ruzima Ghazali will recover soon. Such matters do happen. We just need to be patient.” [3, 6]

The Federal Court’s ruling on Syed Saddiq’s appeal will now be announced on July 13, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 6, 8, 9, 5].