KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak may have violated the Election Offences Act 1954 for inducing voters to vote on the eve of polling day in the just concluded Sibu parliamentary by-election, Karpal Singh (Bukit Gelugur-DAP) said on Monday, May 17.

Speaking to reporters after attending the Parliamentary Committee of Rights and Privileges meeting on Monday, Karpal had quoted a daily paper from East Malaysia where Najib was reported to have said to the crowd in Rejang Park "I want to make a deal with you. Can we have an understanding? The understanding is quite simple. I help you, you help me. Do we have a deal or not? You want RM5 million, I want Robert Lau (Hui Yew) to win".

"This is a clear case of an offence under section 10(a) Election Offences Act, inducing voters to vote on the eve of polling day, making a deal with them and even setting the amount which would be paid if (Barisan Nasional candidate) Robert Lau won," said Karpal, who wants the Election Commission (EC) to investigate Najib.

"I wonder if the PM knows the law. I would advise him to carefully go through the Election Offences Act. I think what he has done is shameful and unprecedented," he said, stressing that it was a serious offence.

"The PM could land himself in jail. If he is not careful, we will have to have a by-election in Pekan. It is as simple as that. This is too obvious and too blatant," said Karpal, who is advising DAP in Sibu to lodge a police report.

He said that once the police report is lodged, the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission would also look into the matter.

Asked if what Najib had said amounted to commitment to the voters, Karpal replied: "It is not commitment. It is a clear case of blatant bribery. An attempt to bribe the electorate in Sibu to vote for BN."

He said precedents like this should not be set and this particular incident is too obvious to be ignored.