BREAKING his silence for the first time since allegations that he had paid PAS RM90 million surfaced, Prime Minister Najib Razak said this was just another attempt to tarnish his reputation.

At a hall packed with Umno cybertroopers, Najib said he did not give any money to PAS as alleged by Sarawak Report.

“I did not give money to PAS. That is why PAS is suing Sarawak Report. We will wait for the results.

“I didn’t do it, and it is Clare (Rewcastle-Brown) who is panicking now,” said Najib at the Umno Social Media Convention at PWTC today.

This is the first time he has denied Sarawak Report’s allegations that he had paid the Islamist party RM90 million in exchange for the party’s support.

The allegations resurfaced recently after Rewcastle-Brown filed her defence against a defamation suit brought by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Her defence, which was filed on October 11, detailed how the money, allegedly from 1Malaysia Development Berhad, made its way to several current and past PAS leaders.

On Monday, she had named prominent lawyer Ambiga Sreenavasan as her informant on the alleged funds transfer.

Rewcastle-Brown said she had spoken with Ambiga in July last year on matters related to 1MDB, Najib and PAS.

Ambiga, on Thursday, hit out at those urging her to “come clean” over her role as informant, saying it was a matter to be dealt with in the UK court, where the PAS suit was filed.

Najib told the more than 3,500 Umno cybertroopers present today that Barisan Nasional depended on the party to win the 14th general election and retain Putrajaya.

He stressed that it was important for the Umno cyber machinery to “take over” social media as the polls were just around the corner.

“Such effort is of utmost importance as GE14 is very, very near. It has been said many times that the biggest source of information, and the most influential, is social media.”

In his hour-long speech, Najib mentioned the accusations that had been made against him online.

Among them, he said, was a photo allegedly showing his wife, Rosmah Mansor, present in a Cabinet meeting during an official trip to Beijing in 2015, as well as various allegations linking him to the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

“If we don’t defend the government (against such accusations), we will lose in the general election.

“There are things being spread that don’t make sense, such as the allegations surrounding the Altantuya case, but people still believe them.

“They Photoshopped Altantuya’s face on another body, and my face on someone else’s body, and claim that we had met. But it is obvious that such photos are doctored.”

He said it was for these reasons that Umno cybertroopers must take to social media and refute such claims, as well as disseminate information on the government’s preparations heading into GE14. – November 4, 2017.