LIVE REPORTS

Polling ends at 5pm. Counting begins at 6pm. Results expected by 9.30pm. There are 48 polling stations in Hulu Selangor, a parliamentary constituency about the size of Malacca.

Total voters: 64,500. Malay - 34,020 (52.7%), Chinese - 16,964 (26.3%), Indian - 12,453 (19.3%), 1,000 - Orang Asli. PHOTO GALLERY l VIDEO (3 min)

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5.40pm: The Election Commission says the final turnout is 75.87 percent, or 48,935 voters have cast their ballot. This is lower than the 80 percent expected by EC.

However, the turnout is slightly higher than the 75.24 percent at 2008 general elections.

There are an additional 1,003 votes in this by-election.

5pm: POLLING CLOSES

There are about 500 people (half BN and half Pakatan) at the Sekolah Rendah Agama Hulu Bernam - one of the hot spots in Hulu Bernam polling district.

Downpour in Kuala Kubu Bahru .

The BN supporters are in high spirits, shouting slogans and waving flags, while the Pakatan crowd, most of whom are PAS supporters, choose to pray in response to the other side’s provocative actions.

The crowd disperses peacefully. M

any of the supporters 'salam' one another and bid goodbye.

16.51pm: The excitement has died down in Kampung Sungai Dusun and Kampung Gesir .

But canvassers are still working hard at Changkat Asa. Both BN and PKR people, numbering about 20 each, were still lining up by the roadside near SJK(T) Ladang Changkat Asa, waving flags and posters.

To the last minute, they were still targeting the majority Indian voters, 499 out of 575. There is only one ‘saluran’ (stream) in this polling station where BN lost by 5.4 percent of votes in 2008.

4pm: As of 4pm, 47,615 voters (73.82% of total voters) have cast their ballots, says the EC.

With one hour of balloting to go, it is beginning to grow dark and cloudy in Kuala Kubu Bahru town.

3.39pm: Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar says 32 people have been arrested, including six people today, for a variety of offenses committed during the by-election, Bernama reports.

Aged between 20 and 40 years old, they were arrested in different locations under suspicion of creating disturbances.

Five of the six persons arrested are being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting, while one more is being investigated under Section 427 of the same code, says Khalid.

   

The five were arrested at the Sungai Buaya polling centre, Khalid adds, without revealing the location of the sixth person.

3.14pm: The EC says that as of 3pm, 43,333 voters - or 67.18 percent of the total number of registered voters - have cast their ballots.

2.55pm: Poll watchdog ‘My Election Watch’ coordinator for Hulu Selangor tells Malaysiakini in Kg Baru Air Panas that they received a few complaints regarding the Orang Asli voters being transferred to other polling stations.

"As far as we know, some of the Orang Asli from Pertak have been transferred to Ampang Pecah," he says.

"We also saw Umno workers sending these Orang Asli to a new polling station by cars, then recorded their names and details after they have voted," said Lee.

2.48pm: It's starting to drizzle in Batang Kali.

2.41pm: As of 2pm, Election Commission says the the voters turnout is 63.74 percent with 41,112 having voted.

2.15pm: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin holds a press conference at the district police headquarters in Kuala Kubu Bahru .

He said BN’s KPI (key performance indicator) for this by-election is a majority of 6,000. This is based on the total majority of votes BN received for the three state seats under the Hulu Selangor constituency two years ago.

In the 2008 general elections, BN won all the three state seats - Hulu Bernam (majority 3,549), Kuala Kubu Bahru (448) and Batang Kali (2,179) - but lost the parliamentary seat.

However, Muhyiddin ( right ) stressed that the most important thing was for BN to win this by-election.

Asked on BN’s chance, he said, "The overall sentiment, up to today, has been pro-Barisan. I hope this will translate into votes."

Meanwhile, candidate Zaid Ibrahim said at a restaurant in KKB that it would an uphill battle for PKR to retain Hulu Selangor.

2.12pm: Young voters appear to think beyond Hulu Selangor as they go to the ballot box.

"I know I'm not just choosing someone to represent us but the poll outcome will have a national impact," first-time voter Nor Ain Fadilah Shawal Alludin, 26, told AFP after casting her vote in the Kuala Kubu Bahru district.

2.05pm: Most of the Malay and ‘mamak’ restaurants in Hulu Bernam are still packed with BN supporters. However, some of the Pakatan campaigners are back at the polling station to continue their vote canvassing.

2.02pm: There is no sign of rain yet despite weather forecast indicating an afternoon shower. It is very hot in Hulu Bernam . However, in Kuala Kubu Bahru , heavy rain clouds could be seen. In Batang Kali , the heat is scorching. Although slightly cloudy, it doesn't look like it's going to rain.

2.00pm: A commotion between 50 Pakatan and 100 BN supporters broke out at Bukit Sentosa around 1pm, leading to injury among a number of BN supporters.

According to one of the BN supporters, who identified himself only as Hasri from Subang, three BN supporters were hurt by opposition supporters: two were beaten by wooden sticks, one by a stone thrown at him.

The commotion happened when BN supporters as they passed by Pakatan supporters jeered and held up a poster attacking Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

Angry Pakatan supporters tried to grab the poster, leading to the the fight.

A team of light strike force personnel had to be sent to the scene to separate the two sides.

It is understood that three people have been sent to the hospital for treatment, while an unknown number lodged reports with the police. It is not known whether, or how many, Pakatan supporters were injured in the incident.

When approached, a police officer said, "We just arrived after the incident, so we don't know how it happened."

1.45pm: At the Sekolah Agama Hulu Yam Lama , the morning excitement has died down. The campaigners are getting tired and there is no boos or taunting from the 20 canvassers left at the polling station. Only the police could be seen keeping a close watch on the traffic. A few of their colleagues are standing under the shade of a tree.

1pm: According to the Election Commission, the voters turnout at 1pm is 56.82 percent with 36,650 having voted. 

12.30pm: Umno and MCA canvassers outnumber PKR by over 100 supporters at Sekolah Kebangsaan Hulu Yam Baru . According to the PKR information counter, 765 have voted out of the total 1,749 voters at this polling station.

About five Light Strike Force personnel stand guard in between PKR supporters, numbering only about 20, and the BN supporters. Energy is running high on the BN side despite the scorching heat.

BN supporters, mostly made up young Malay and Indian boys as well as Chinese 'aunties', are taunting PKR, calling their candidate "kaki judi" and "lumba kuda".

12.05pm: Selangor PKR chief Khalid Ibrahim ( right ) visits Sekolah Rendah Agama Hulu Bernam , leading to greater excitement at this polling centre between BN and PKR.

PKR supporters chant "reformasi" to welcome Khalid, while Pemuda Umno shout "tauke babi" ((pork towkay). The PKR crowd responds by chanting "Altantuya" and "rasuah!" (corruption). 

12pm: 31,632 have cast their ballot, taking the voters turnout to 49.04 percent.

Reports have emerged of a fight between Pemuda Umno and Pakatan  supporters at about 11am in front of Sekolah Agama Hulu Bernam .

According to a PKR supporter here, at least one person is said to have gone to the nearest police station to lodge a report.

11.58am: The stream of voters going into SRJK (C) Rasa is slowing down to a trickle, with voters expected to return in larger numbers after lunch.

11.53am: According to a PKR worker, the party's information booth at the SRJK(C) Khing Ming was torn down by the EC.

11.48am: P Kamalanathan and his wife S Shobana visit the Sekolah Kebangsaan Ulu Yam Baru .

11.30am: Voter turnout as of 11am is at 38.21 percent, with 24,645 registered voters having cast their ballots.

According to PKR workers, voting rate at Sekolah Agama Serendah - a polling station in a ethnically-mixed area with 1,898 voters - is about 25 percent.

There are reports of voters, especially senior citizens, having gone to the wrong polling station as they did not know they had been transferred to another polling station.

Senior citizens who had gone to SRJK(C) Serendah, in particular, did not know they had been transferred to another polling station within the Kampung Baharu Serendah polling district.

At least one senior citizen who had gone to Sekolah Agama Serendah found out he had been registered to vote at SRJK (C) Serendah.

At Sekolah Menengah Rasa polling station, it's PAS versus Umno, mocking them with "tak boleh dibuat bini".

11.20am: SMK Ampang Pecah , a polling station in a Malay area, was visited by Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal.

11.15am: Trouble was brewing outside the Sekolah Rendah Agama Hulu Bernam after members of Peumuda Umno threw an object at PKR supporters.

Tensions subsided only after the police parked a police truck in the middle of the road between the two sides.

At the Sekoloah Agama Serendah , meanwhile, Light Strike Force personnel have been deployed to guard polling centre situated therein. The situation, however, is quite peaceful as supporters of both sides - numbering about 50 each - are only shouting slogans at each other and trying to woo voters.

The BN side is singing patriotic songs and shouting 1Malaysia slogans, while PKR supporters show banners of Zaid.

11am: Tensions are on the rise at the Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Hulu Bernam , a polling station situated in a Malay-majority area.

A fight almost broke out when a group of BN supporters wearing black 'Pemuda Umno' T-shirts provoked a crowd of PKR supporters. Police personnel there managed to cool down both sides.

10.50am: About 350 people are said to have voted today at SRJK(C) Rasa . The pollling station has about 1,700 registered voters in total.

10.49am: BN supporters were seen distributing and showing posters depicting Zaid drinking beer at Sekolah Agama Serendah polling station.

10.45am VS Chandran, the independent candidate who pulled out of the by-election, emerged in Batang Kali and was seen canvassing for BN.

The SRJK(T) Ladang Kerling polling station, in a predominantly Indian area, has seen only 200 out of 866 registered voters cast their votes.

According to MIC leaders here, the area is a "bad place" for BN because estate residents have applied for land titles for many years, with no response from the authorities.

According to PKR workers at this polling station, two Indian voters failed to vote because their names were not in the electoral roll, although they voted here in the last general elections.

10.44am: About 100 supporters from both sides are at the SRJK(C) Khing Ming in this Chinese-majority area. Given that they are not wearing T-shirts with party colours, it is hard to identify which sides they are from.

The situation is however calm. Some campaigners are holding posters depicting the two candidates, while a few are spotted with Teoh Beng Hock posters.

10.43am: In the Malay-majority area of Sungai Selisek , 248 out of 793 have already voted.

10:34am: A minor scuffle was reported to break out at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Baru Batang Kali between Pakatan and BN supporters. Police had to step in to separate the parties.

The day is getting warmer and warmer. 

10.25am: The situation in Sekolah Kebangsaan Kerling , a mixed-race polling station, is calm. Both sides set up their ‘pondok panas’ without any interference from the Election Commission.

There are 10 PKR supporters, but they are outnumbered by BN workers numbering about 50, mostly youths brought into the area on buses.

All of them wear white 1Malaysia T-shirt and are quite aggressive in canvassing for votes. They keep chanting "Hidup 1Malaysia".

When they first arrived here by bus at around 9am, some of them crossed over to the PKR territory and got into a shouting match. Police moved in and ordered them to return to their side of the road. A small team of police Light Strike Force is stationed here but there has not been any scuffle so far.

It appears that BN has brought in many busloads of young supporters from outside the constituency - all wearing the same T-shirt, either black and dark-blue BN T-shirt or the white 1Malaysia T-shirt.

Free Berita Harian and New Straits Times are being distributed to campaigners and voters.

10.22am: In Batang Kali , supporters from Pakatan and BN, who are on opposite sides of the road, are jeering and inciting each other. BN canvassers calls Pakatan supporters "bodoh, gemuk" and chanting "liwat", while Pakatan retaliate with “Umno rasuah" and “Apco-Umno, Umno-Yahudi”.

10.10am: Having two sides standing next to each other is proving to be a recipe for disaster in Rasa, Kuala Kubu Bahru . Both BN and Pakatan supporters come close to a scuffle again. A team of police Light Strike Force have to be brought in. They carry batons, shields and tear-gas canister launchers.

Batu MP Tian Chua seeks to calm down the Pakatan side. Three light strike force personnel are standing on the Pakatan side while six are stationed at the BN side. Tian Chua tells his people that BN is provoking them on purpose

10am: In the Sekolah Menengah Kamaruddin, Kuala Kubu Bahru - a Malay-majority area - BN election workers appear to dominate all the strategic spots along the main roads leading to the school. Twenty black-clad BN workers arrive. 

9.55am: In Rasa, Kuala Kubu Bharu , Selangor exco Ronnie Liu advises Pakatan supporters not give in to provocations from the BN side.

His advice came soon after a heated verbal match between the two sides when a BN man shouted expletives at Pakatan supporters.

Police try to persuade some 20 BN supporters to move to the other side road to separate the two groups. But BN supporters would not budge. The more vocal BN supporters instead move to stand closer to the Pakatan people. They cry " punggung kasi " when Pakatan chant “reformasi”.

9.45am: MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek arrives at the Chinese-majority area of Kg Baru Kelompang. Pakatan supporters opposite of MCA ‘pondok panas’ mocks him with "Dato, marilah sini ambil gambar."

Chus smiles and waves. He says he is confident BN will emerge victorious. "Saya yakin BN akan menang, tapi dari segi peratus tak tau."

He however concedes that the MCA campaign strategy, which only focus on the new village issue and local development, has been unable to attract the younger Chinese residents and out-of-town voters.

When asked whether he is not confident of a BN win, he said: "Don't put words into my mouth. I did not say this. That's why sometimes I don't like to meet reporters."

9.42am: The BN supporters in Rasa , Kuala Kubu Bahru (a Chinese-majority area) outnumber Pakatan’s by about 20 people. They jeer at cars that donned PKR flags, some attempt to cover windows of the slow-moving cars with BN flags.

The two sides, numbering about 70 people, almost clash when one protestor who is against the building a TNB power line in Rawang got agitated and wanted to go over to confront the BN side. Police step in to restore peace.

The BN side comprises mostly Malay youths, while those on the Pakatan side are mainly middle-aged Chinese. The BN supporters jeer at the few Malays standing on the Pakatan side with remarks such as "Melayu bodoh! Tak malu ke anak nampak?"

Pakatan supporters yell "Reformasi" and BN side answers "Sudah Basi".

9.30am: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin visits the BN ‘pondok panas’ at the Malay-majority area of Sungai Buaya . There are around 100 supporters from both BN and Pakatan standing on both sides of the road canvassing votes for their respective candidates.

9.24am: BN has cleverly set up its ‘pondok panas’ (polling information booth) at a resident’s house opposite the polling station at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan KKB , a Malay-Majority area. However, no PKR ‘pondok panas’ could be seen.

Quite a number of voters are queuing to vote, mostly women and the elderly. Both BN and Pakatan Rakyat have around 20 supporters standing on both sides of the road, persuading voters who passed by to vote for their respective coalition.

When no voter is seen passing the gauntlet, both sides argue over whether on a number of national issues - the Pakatan supporters raise the issue of government corruption while the BN side says some Malaysians don't work hard enough and they put the blame on government.

Some vehicles passing the polling station honk in support of the flag-waving supporters, which immediately draws shouts of acknowledgment from the crowd.

9.10am: BN candidate P Kamalanathan leaves Sungai Choh for other polling stations. He describes the reception from the voters as “fantastic, wonderful, marvelous and outstanding”.

"I'm very, very happy and excited. I'm getting ready to go to a few more places. It’s the voters’ decision now. The voters of Hulu Selangor are smart... They know what's wrong and what’s right.”

He is off to a polling station in Serendah.

9am: In Sungai Choh , most of the early voters are elderly residents. The Election Commission officers and the police are not letting reporters to talk to them.

BN candidate P Kamalanathan visits the polling station at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Choh. Villagers are checking their polling details with the EC information counters.

Both candidates - Kamalanathan and PKR's Zaid Ibrahim - are not registered voters in the Hulu Selangor constitutency. Kamalanathan is a voter in Sungai Siput, Perak, while Zaid is voter in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

8.55am: The traffic starts to become congested in Rasa , Kuala Kubu Bahru, with the police helping to ease the flow. Rasa is a majority Chinese area - it has the largest number of Chinese voters in the Kuala Kubu Bahru state constituency.

A steady stream of voters, both young and old, are going into the polling station. Shopkeepers around the town area have all gone to vote early.

8.50am: The traffic from Kuala Kubu Bahru to Kalumpang is smooth. There are only a few cars on the road. The mostly Chinese voters in Kg Baru Kalumpan are going to the polling station in Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Cina) Kalumpang to cast their votes. 

8.42am: In Kuala Kubu Bahru , despite warnings from the Election Commission yesterday, PKR has set up information booths for voters to check their polling stations.

But counter operator who identify himself as Mr Siaw said that the EC, which has also set up several booths for the purpose, have not told them to close the counters.

O ne voter found that she has been moved to Bukit Sentosa and will be ferried to her new polling station by PKR election workers.

A shouting match ensues between BN and PKR election workers who are lined up by the polling centre. MIC supporters in motorcycles are revving their bikes in between the two groups.

8.30am: The situation is calm at the polling centres. In Kuala Kubu Bahru town, police are station at all major intersection to ensure smooth traffic flow. Shops are beginning to open their shutters while residents are slowing coming out to vote.

8.23am: PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar claims around 10 buses believed to be carrying ‘phantom voters’ were spotted in the area early this morning. He says PKR supporters have stopped seven of them at Ampang Pecah between 3am and 7am.

T hey have lodged a police report on the matter. But the police decided to let the buses go as they were said to be carrying Umno Youth election workers.

According to Shamsul, there was a slight a commotion between the 50 PKR Youth members who stopped the buses with the 400 Umno Youth on board.

8am: All polling stations open. It’s a sunny Sunday morning in Kuala Kubu Bahru . However, rain is expected in the afternoon. The traffic is smooth as the main town in the Hulu Selangor constituency slowly wakes up on polling day.

[More to follow]