Student questions public donations to Najib Razak's solidarity fund at Kuala Lumpur summit

At the iFUTURE summit held from Oct 11 to 13, student representative Ummi Umairah Bakhit of Universiti Malaya raised concerns about donations to the Najib Razak Solidarity Fund, questioning the public's support for a leader tied to the 1MDB corruption case and convicted in the SRC International trial. She voiced surprise that contributions were being made while Najib serves a conditional house-arrest sentence that will last until Aug 23, 2028, pending payment of a RM50 million fine.

The fund was created on Sept 18 after the Federal Territories Pardons Board granted the pardon. In response, UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi disclosed that the party had raised RM9.25 million for the fund. The discussion also touched on the Tabung Haji controversy and broader issues of political accountability.

Clips of the exchange circulated widely on TikTok and Instagram, drawing mixed reactions from users. The summit gathered over 1,200 student leaders from Malaysian and international universities for dialogue with government, industry and academic figures.