“Najib, through a written reply yesterday to Sibu MP Wong Ho Leng and Bandar Kuching MP Chong Chien Jien, had said that the government had not promised any projects to Sibu folk during the by-election in Sibu.

“This is a clear lie. We have the recording on Youtube, which has now attracted over 90,000 views. It shows Najib, during a speech in Rejang Park, promising RM5 million if people voted for BN,” said Chong.

During a last-minute pitch on the eve of the by-election, Najib announced an allocation of RM5 million for flood-mitigation projects in Rejang Park provided the BN candidate was elected.

“If Robert Lau becomes the MP on Sunday, on Monday I will ask [for] the cheque to be prepared. Do we have a deal or not? We do! You want the RM5 million, I want Robert Lau to win,” Najib told the crowd.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has also agreed to investigate claims that the prime minister committed an election offence during the Sibu vote, with his pledge to solve flash floods there if Barisan Nasional retained the Parliamentary seat.

The DAP had earlier today in Parliament moved to refer Najib under Standing Orders 36(12) to refer to him to the parliamentary rights and privileges committee for “misleading Parliament.”

Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin said that he would look into the matter first before deciding any further action.

“This money was an assurance given by the PM. I want the money. The Sibu people want the money. He (Najib) should be responsible for this,” said newly-minted MP Wong.

The Najib administration revealed yesterday that it had approved 107 projects and programmes collectively worth RM37.7 million during the recent Sibu by-election.

However, the government denied that the approval for the projects was done because of the Sibu by-election to attract voters to vote for Barisan Nasional (BN).

“The projects which have been approved for the Sibu parliamentary seat have been planned by the government long before the by-elections had been called, same as every parliamentary and state seat throughout the country,” said the statement.

“We want to know if the RM5 million promised by PM is part of the RM37.7 million used for projects in Sibu. If it is not, where is the money promised by PM? His denial contradicts what he said in Sibu,” added Chong.