Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today he believed that the "slander mills" of the opposition political parties would operate round the clock in the final phase of campaigning in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election, polling for which is on Sunday.

He said the opposition was beginning to feel pressured and would resort to anything, including circulating slanderous leaflets against Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders.

"I know that in this final phase, the slander mills will work 24 hours on the other side. I also expect them to circulate various leaflets against Umno and BN leaders and say this and that when it is not the case.

"I want to pre-empt it so that they know that we are in the know of what they intend to do," he told reporters after opening the new fire station of the Kuala Kubu Bharu Fire & Rescue Department.

Muhyiddin, who is Umno deputy president and BN deputy chairman, said the opposition was unable to give defensive explanations on matters raised so far in the by-election campaign.

He said they did not get response for their ceramah (talks) and they manipulated the facts and circulated slander to smear the image of the BN.

Asked about the opposition strategy of campaigning in the Felda schemes, Muhyiddin said the BN concentrated on all areas, including Felda schemes, Orang Asli villages, traditional villages, new villages, towns and rural and interior areas.

"We do not neglect any area. We know that they are focusing on the Felda schemes because there is a sizeable number of votes among the Malays there.

"We believe the Felda settlers will surely understand that their being in the schemes is on the initiative of the BN government, and a majority of them appreciate this," he said.

Muhyiddin said it was needless for the BN government to make promises to the Felda community because all promises had been fulfilled unlike the empty promises of the opposition.

Asked about the momentum of the BN election machinery in the 48 hours before polling, Muhyiddin said the BN would step up the momentum so that its representatives could meet all the voters in the constituency.

"The present momentum is very good. We can say that we have covered almost all the areas. Most importantly, we have to focus on providing information and explanation in detail if issues crop up in certain areas," he said.

Muhyiddin said the fact that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak also campaigned in the constituency reflected the seriousness of the Umno president and BN chairman in facing the by-election.

On the BN's chances of winning the by-election, he said the BN did not want to be over-confident because the coalition was facing a strong challenge.

"Much work remains to be done. I am not saying that we are too confident but, in the last few days, there have been favourable signs.

"We know that we are up against a strong challenge. Nevertheless, we will face it and hope that the people will support the BN candidate," he said.

- Bernama