ANALYSIS To the casual political observer, two facts from the recent Kajang by-election would have stood out.

Firstly, the turnout decreased from 88 percent in GE13 to 72 percent. Secondly, the majority of victory decreased from 6,824 in GE13 to 5,379 - a drop of 1,445 votes.

On the surface, these results may seem like a negative reflection on Pakatan Rakyat's and specifically PKR's campaign as part of the 'Kajang Move'. But a more careful analysis of the results reveals important findings that are positive for Pakatan, moving forward.

Pakatan increased its popular vote from 56.8 percent to 59.7 percent, a 2.9 percent increase. While this increase may not seem significant, one has to take into account that the lower turnout most likely decreased Pakatan's popular vote.

Most of those who did not vote for a variety of reasons - did not return from outstation, it was the start of the school holidays, and thought that the outcome was already decided - would have been Pakatan voters, especially the younger voters whose turnout decreased more than the older voters (more on this later)...