This must indeed be another sign of the kind of new politics that has arrived in Malaysia.

Before 2008, whenever a by-election is pending anywhere in Malaysia, the punters would have put their money on Barisan Nasional. They were those sad times that even if you put the BN symbol on a cow, I would still expect the poor animal to win the by-election hands down!

After the March 8 general election however, the BN traditional formulae of racial posturing, media manipulation, development Maggie Mee, and downright vote buying seem to have lost their magic, as they lost four by-elections in a row within one year in West Malaysia.