The mysterious 1Malaysia NGO has changed its low-profile approach ahead of the Sarawak election, announcing that it will organise a series of free meals and games for Kuching residents, all sponsored by an unnamed billionaire.

According to a report in the Chinese daily China Press , the NGO's coordinator, Sia Teck Keong, released a statement yesterday announcing details of the activities.

Sia said the objective of the activities was to promote the 1Malaysia concept introduced by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

The group, he reiterated, is an independent NGO with no political affiliation and its operating cost is sponsored by a billionaire who supports the 1Malaysia concept.

He did not disclose the identity of the billionaire.

The NGO will organise a basketball game at Batu Lintang on Saturday, a mega dinner at Kenyalang the next day and a Indonesian buffet at Kuching Islamic Information Centre on April 2.

All the events are open to the public.

NONE The 1Malaysia NGO first surfaced during the Galas by-election campaign late last year, with scores of volunteers walking around the predominantly Chinese majority areas and handing out goodie bags.

It also organised free dinners, almost every night of the campaign period, with attractive lucky draw prizes and performances to distract the voters from attending Pakatan Rakyat's political talks.

This modus operandi was repeated in all the other subsequent by-elections.

While several opposition politicians have described the 1Malaysia NGO's efforts as a form of vote-buying, they also admitted that it had been somewhat effective in the seepage of the opposition's traditional Chinese voter bank to the BN.

Although its activities have received wide media coverage, the person-in-charge has always been keeping away from the media.