Kootu Funds

A nasi lemak stall operator was fined RM50,000 in default of a year's jail by the Sessions Court here today for running a kootu fund for a group of people. Nor Jaimah Kamarudin, 38, is believed to be the first person to be charged with the offence since the amendment to the Kootu Funds (Prohibition) Act 1971 in 2011.

The amended charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' jail or a RM500,000 fine or both upon conviction.

During proceedings this morning, the mother-of-three pleaded guilty to organizing a kootu fund for five individuals through social media (Facebook) between January and August 2018, a charge under Section 3(1) of the Kootu Funds (Prohibition) Act 1971. 

Nor Jaimah was charged in Kuantan in 2020 and the case was then transferred to the Butterworth court here in Penang. Nor Jaimah was said to have organized a kootu fund for a group of five people where they paid money. The kootu money in this case involved more than RM100,000.