SANDAKAN, May 8 — The DAP urged Sandakan residents to "welcome” former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s arrival here by wearing black.

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang said the Pekan MP has blackened Malaysia’s image by turning the country into a global kleptocracy through the 1MDB scandal and Sandakan natives should send him a message when he arrives to help the Parti Bersatu Sabah campaign for the by-election here.

"Please come. He must come. Talk and tell us.

"He should apologise to the people of Sandakan. Clarify to the people — is he a victim of Jho Low? Is it the other way round? Answer once and for all,” he said.

Lim said that Malaysia was now infamous for the 1MDB corruption scandal thanks to Najib. He also said its integrity and corruption laws were questioned.

"We should not take this lightly. Corruption is still a problem here and we are still dealing with it.

"If he comes tomorrow, wearing black will send him a strong message that we are against corruption,” he said.

Sabah Umno chairman Datuk Bung Moktar Radin reportedly said Najib will be in Sandakan on Friday when his trial over RM42 million of SRC international funds stands down.

DAP Perak chairman Nga Kor Ming claimed Najib’s presence would not bear well on PBS in light of the various charges and allegations against him.

"This shows that PBS was an accomplice in the 1MDB scandal as they failed to voice out against it. They had failed the people of Sabah and Sandakan then and now, if they have any conscience, they should reject it,” he said.

DAP Sabah secretary Chan Foong Hin also welcomed Najib’s visit here saying that it would be good for Najib to have to face Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal again.

Najib sacked Shafie as the rural and regional development minister previously.

"He has brought shame on us through this ‘Malu apa bossku’ culture and we hope Sandakan will reject this,” he said.

Najib is expected to come to Sabah on Friday after his hearing on the SRC trial ends.

The Sandakan by-election is a five-corned fight between DAP’s VIvian Wong, PBS’s Datuk Linda Tsen, and three independent candidates: former Sabah Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) chairman Hamzah Abdullah; businessman Chia Siew Yung and former administrative officer of the Sandakan parliamentary service centre, Sulaiman Samat.

Polling day is this Saturday, May 11.