With less than 48 hours left before Sarawakians cast their ballots, a People's Volunteer Corp (Rela) function saw those who attended being given envelopes containing RM30 each.

While the organiser denied vote-buying, some of the recipients were disappointed with the amount.

The event, titled: "Leaders with Rela programme", was officiated by Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed, along with BN's candidate for Tasik Biru Henry Jinep.

About 900 Rela personnel, as well as members of the public, flooded Dewan Suarah Bau where the function was held.

Those present told Malaysiakini that they were required to obtain a coupon on the ground floor before entering the auditorium where they then proceeded to fill in their names and MyKad numbers on the coupon.

After Nur Jazlan ended his speech and left the scene, they were then ushered onto the stage where they exchanged their coupons for the envelopes.

One woman told Malaysiakini she travelled 30km from Batu Kitang to the function after getting word that she could get RM50.

"They promised RM50 but only gave RM30. It's too little," lamented the woman, who declined to be named.

Two more women, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, also said they heard about the RM50 but were disappointed to receive RM30.

"Yesterday, we got RM50 at BCCK (Borneo Convention Centre Kuching) but here it's only RM30," said one of them in reference to another Rela function which was attended by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Despite receiving the cash, the woman admitted to being a PKR supporter.

'Appreciation for those who maintained peace'

Malaysiakini approached the person-in-charge who denied the cash distribution was a case of vote-buying.

The Rela officer, however, declined to give his name but his uniform carried his identification as 'Hashiman'.

"There is no vote-buying; there is no such thing as vote-buying. We are merely showing appreciation for the contribution of our members.

"The government has maintained peace. It has governed from the days of war until today and we have been loyal to the government in defending this country.

"So this is one of the things - we want to show our appreciation to those to have contributed to maintaining peace," he said.

Asked whether the distributed money came from Rela, the officer declined to comment further.

"This is not under my jurisdiction. I can't comment. I only organised the programme," he said.

'Rela members must go out and vote Henry Jinep'

In his speech earlier, Nur Jazlan pointed out that 18 percent of voters there were Rela members.

"This 18 percent must go out and vote Henry Jinep," he said to loud applause.

The deputy minister said this was not a personal request, but for the interest of Sarawak and urged those in attendance to convince their friends to vote for the BN candidate as well.

"But 18 percent is not enough to win... So ladies and gentlemen, it is not enough for you to go out and vote alone, find another friend (to do so as well).

"Make sure they go out and vote. If we multiply that by two, we would have 36 percent and if we multiply it by three, we would have 54 percent and Henry would win," he said.

When contacted, Nur Jazlan told Malaysiakini the Rela director-general will issue a statement on the matter tomorrow.

Henry is going up against DAP's Mordi Bimol in Tasik Biru.

The seat, held by BN, is a key battleground and a litmus test on whether DAP can break out of its Chinese bases into Dayak constituencies.

Tasik Biru comprises 68 percent non-Muslim bumiputera, 25 percent Chinese, and six percent Melanau.