The party also dismissed the former prime minister’s suggestion that it could do whatever it wanted.

In a tweet earlier, Najib had accused the party of breaking election rules when campaigning for its candidate, Vivian Wong, in the by-election.

He accompanied his posting with two pictures of chairs belonging to Majlis Perbandaran Sandakan (MPS) at a DAP ceramah and claimed the Election Commission (EC) would not do anything about it.

“It’s ok. The country belongs to them. DAP can do whatever they want. Because DAP knows the EC will not take any action,” Najib tweeted.

Describing it as a non-issue, Sabah DAP publicity secretary Phoong Jin Zhe said the party had rented the chairs from the council, just like anybody else, and did not commit any election offence.

“We sent them a letter requesting to rent the chairs on April 27 and it was approved on the same day,” he said.

Phoong, who is also the Luyang assemblyman, said while MPS was a government body, any party including Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) and the independent candidates could have borrowed the chairs.

“This also applies to the community halls as long as the requirements are complied with.”

He said Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal had in the past also ordered the local authorities to allow opposition parties to rent community halls for their election campaigns.

“As a seasoned politician himself, Najib should know that it is usual practice to rent community halls and the facilities like chairs, lighting, fans and sound system as long as permission is obtained and granted freely by the parties involved,” he said.