KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 — Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng today announced he has already reached the RM2.25 million target which he was trying to crowdfund to pay for compensation and court-ordered costs for a defamation lawsuit against him.

His announcement was made just barely over three days since he started the fundraising on Friday.

"RM2.25m Donation goal reached. Thank you everyone!” he wrote in a brief Facebook post in both English and Mandarin

Attached to his Facebook post was a lengthier announcement in both languages, stating: "We have reached RM2.25 mil, Please do not donate any further.”

Thanking his supporters for their kindness and help during this difficult time, the DAP leader said he was humbled by their generosity.

"A licensed auditor will be appointed to ensure transparency & accountability on donations collected,” he said, thanking his supporters for supporting justice and standing with him.

Last Friday, Lim had on Facebook launched the fundraising effort to pay for the RM2 million compensation and RM250,000 legal costs, which the High Court had ordered him to pay to local company MonSpace (M) Sdn Bhd and its founder Datuk Seri Jessy Lai in a defamation lawsuit.

Lim said he had been helping investment scam victims without fear over the years and had also tried in 2016 to help a group of individuals who asked him for help but ended up with a lawsuit where he was ordered to pay RM2.25 million.

Lim said he had already filed an appeal but was still required to pay the amount, and said he would otherwise face the prospect of becoming bankrupt and risk being disqualified as an MP.

On Friday, Lim had promised to donate the entire sum to charitable and educational bodies when his appeal succeeds and the RM2.25 million sum is returned.

Donations from the public were channelled to the client’s account of the law firm representing him. A client’s account is where law firms hold money for their clients on trust.

When contacted by Malay Mail on Friday, Lim’s lawyer Guok Ngek Seong confirmed that an appeal had been filed on Thursday against the High Court’s decision and that preparations were being made to apply for a stay order to suspend the High Court order until the Court of Appeal decides on the appeal.

In the lawsuit filed in June 2019, Lai had accused Lim of making allegedly defamatory remarks against the company and her by speaking to the media during a visit to MonSpace’s headquarters in Bukit Jalil on May 23, 2017, claiming that the remarks implied she was dishonest, not law-abiding, running an illegal business and had cheated its Chinese investors.

Lim and Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew had gone with 19 Chinese nationals, who claimed they were victims of the MonSpace investment scheme, to the company headquarters to demand a refund or an explanation on why their investment had not materialised.