A free-for-all brawl nearly broke out between some 200 Barisan Nasional and Barisan Alternatif supporters outside a BN operations centre as campaigning in the hotly contested Indera Kayangan by-election entered its final hours.

About 100 opposition followers went to the Padang Katong operations centre when they received reports that Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was visiting a nearby village, was being "besieged" by Umno supporters.

According to members of the Keadilan delegation, Wan Azizah's 30-member entourage was followed and "harassed" by a group of 50-odd young men and women led by Puteri Umno chief Azalina Othman Said.

When the Keadilan campaigners arrived to lend support to Wan Azizah's delegation, they were confronted by about 100 BN followers.

However, Azizah, who was accompanied by other BA leaders PAS central executive committee member Hatta Ramli, Keadilan supreme council members Cheah Kah Peng and Abdul Rahman Yusof had already left the area.

While the two groups of supporters hurled abuses to each other, three vehicles were involved in an accident in front of the operations centre.

According to an eyewitness, a blue Isuzu trooper rammed into a motorbike belonging to a Keadilan supporter, which in turn hit another vehicle parked at the side of the road.

The driver of the trooper, who was sporting a BN t-shirt, ran away after it was discovered that his vehicle contained a number of torn-down Keadilan banners.

Among the banners were also a number of what the opposition supporters believe to be "false" Keadilan posters, which declared that the party and its Muslim-based ally PAS supported the setting up of an Islamic state.

This further incensed the Keadilan crowd and BN supporters at the scene responded by telling their rivals to "Balik kampung" (Go home).

However, despite the exchange of harsh words, the situation was brought under control by the police, who kept both groups from attacking one another.

Police report

Keadilan Youth leader Low Chee Chong told malaysiakini that the party will be lodging a police report in Kangar later tonight.

"We are going to report the accident and the fact that the trooper carried false banners of Keadilan," said Low, adding that the party had not issued banners which said that PAS and Keadilan supported an Islamic state.

Campaigning will officially end at midnight tonight and since it began nine days ago, there have been allegations of assault and vandalism from the opposition.

Tomorrow's by-election will see Keadilan's Khoo Yang Chong, a 60-year-old former teacher, in a straight fight with MCA's Oui Ah Lan, 58, a retired Chinese school headmistress.

The seat fell vacant last month following the death of BN state assembly representative Khor Liang Tee.