Scorpenes: More funds needed to dig deeper, says SUARAM

The RM250,000 raised by human rights NGO Suaram's fund raising events last month is expected to fall short of the total legal cost needed for the case it is pursuing at the French courts over the Malaysian government's purchase of two submarines.

This is despite the fact that the funds raised far surpasses the NGO's initial “modest” target of RM100,000, which it intended as a start-up fund.

Speaking to reporters at Petaling Jaya today, Suaram director Cynthia Gabriel said it is expected that the "overwhelming" donated amount would only cover the initial stages of the case.

Deporting Bourdon is Najib's biggest mistake, says Suaram

The unceremonious deportation of renowned French human rights lawyer, William Bourdon, last Friday is the biggest mistake yet by the Malaysian government for it is an affront to diplomacy, to international law and common decency. It was a totally arbitrary act by the Home Ministry and a gross abuse of executive power of the Najib administration.

William Bourdon was in Malaysia last week, representing SUARAM in the ongoing investigations over irregularities involved in the purchase of two Scorpene class submarines from the French state company DCN costing more than RM 7.3 billion ringgit.