Even as politicians were keeping tabs on the likely outcome of the Pengkalan Pasir by-election, their conduct was being closely monitored by observer-group Malaysian for Free Elections (Mafrel).

As one of the observers in the group, I saw aspects of campaigning and polling that went unreported by the print and electronic media.

Day 1: Politics in the mosque

I arrived about 4am on nomination day Nov 27, together with a number of friends from Penang, and went to a mosque. A query arose in my sleepy head: given the hotly contested by-election atmosphere, how would Muslims from Umno and PAS get along in the mosque?