2010 Hulu Selangor by-election

The 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election is a by-election for the Dewan Rakyat federal seat of Hulu Selangor, Malaysia that were held on 25 April 2010.^[1] It was called following the death of the incumbent, Zainal Abidin Ahmad on 25 March 2010.

2010 Hulu Selangor by-election

← 2008 25 April 2010 2013 →
Hulu Selangor seat in the Dewan Rakyat
PKR Candidate P. Kamalanathan Zaid Ibrahim Party BN (MIC) PKR Alliance PR Popular vote 24,997 23,272 Percentage 51.79% 48.21%
Hulu Selangor MP before election Zainal Abidin Ahmad PKR Elected Hulu Selangor MP P. Kamalanathan BN (MIC)

Background

Zainal Abidin Ahmad, a candidate of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) were first elected to the federal seat of Hulu Selangor at the 2008 Malaysian general election, defeating 3-term incumbent from Barisan Nasional (BN), G. Palanivel.^[2] A former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) member before joining PKR in 2005, Zainal Abidin were the assemblyman for Dusun Tua in the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for 3-terms from 1990 to 2004, and were the Deputy Menteri Besar of Selangor from 1999 to 2004.^[2]

On 25 March 2010, Zainal Abidin passed away at his house in Kajang, because of brain cancer.^[2] His death means that his Hulu Selangor federal seat were vacated. This necessitates for a by-election to be held, as the seat were vacated more that 2 years before the expiry of the Dewan Rakyat current term. Election Commission of Malaysia (SPR) announced that the by-election will be held on 25 April 2010, with 17 April 2010 set as the nomination day.

Nomination and campaign

As the seat was formerly won by BN's component party Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) since 1986, usually the candidate would come from MIC. After the news of Zainal's death, Palanivel, the former incumbent for the seat and MIC deputy president were being announced by MIC president Samy Vellu as their candidate.^[3] However, after several discussions involving MIC and UMNO, including naming MIC Youth vice-chief V. Mugilan, BN nominated P. Kamalanathan, MIC information chief and public relations director for Serba Wangi Sdn Bhd as their candidate.^[4] PKR meanwhile nominated Zaid Ibrahim, a former UMNO member and member of Parliament for Kota Bharu from 2004 to 2008.^[5] A lawyer that formerly owned his own law firm Zaid Ibrahim & Co, Zaid were also Minister in the Prime Minister's Department from March 2008 before resigning only 3 months later and sacked from UMNO. He joined PKR in 2009.

After nomination closed, it was confirmed there will be a straight fight between BN and PKR for the Hulu Selangor seat.^[6] There were 2 independent candidate nominations that were accepted by SPR on nomination day,^[7] but the candidates withdrew before the nomination deadline, 2 days later.^[6]

Timeline

The key dates are listed below.

Date	Event
	Issue of the Writ of Election
17 April 2010	Nomination Day
17 - 24 April 2010	Campaigning Period
	Early polling day for postal and overseas voters
25 April 2010	Polling Day

Results

Malaysian general by-election, 25 April 2010: Hulu Selangor
Upon the death of incumbent, Zainal Abidin Ahmad

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	BN	P. Kamalanathan	24,997	51.79	2.00
	PKR	Mohd Zaid Ibrahim	23,272	48.21	2.00
Total valid votes			48,269	100.00
Total rejected ballots			731
Unreturned ballots			67
Turnout			49,067	76.07	0.83
Registered electors			64,500
Majority			1,725	3.58	3.16
	BN gain from PKR		Swing		?
Source(s) "Pilihan Raya Kecil P.094 Hulu Selangor". Election Commission of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2018-09-19.

Previous result

Malaysian general election, 2008: Hulu Selangor

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%
	PKR	Zainal Abidin Ahmad	23,177	50.21	50.21
	BN	G. Palanivel	22,979	49.79	17.82
Total valid votes			46,156	100.00
Total rejected ballots			1,466
Unreturned ballots			223
Turnout			47,845	75.24	2.47
Registered electors			63,593
Majority			198	0.42	34.80
	PKR gain from BN		Swing		?

Aftermath

Notes