Khatijah Rahmat, political observer of national politics and byelections, describes the atmosphere at Hulu Selangor, and what ultimately won the contest for Barisan Nasional, and what was different in this by-election.

This Hulu Selangor by-election saw a keen contest between P Kamalanathan on the Barisan Nasional ticket and Datuk Zaid Ibrahim for Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Kamalanathan defeated Zaid with a 1,725 vote majority.