Anwar Ibrahim
"We have the numbers"
For first time, he announces he has enough 'defectors' to form the government, so why doesn't he? The answer.. By Seah Chiang Nee.
Apr 15, 2008

"Now I can say for the first time that we are ready to govern the country," Anwar Ibrahim told reporters yesterday. "We have the numbers ... Some (government lawmakers) have had discussions with us, but we are not in a hurry."

Anwar stressed, however, the opposition wants to wait until it has "a comfortable majority" before trying to form a government. He gave no indication of how long that might take.

There is a bigger reason, of course, the de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance) is not a member of Parliament, having missed last month's general elections due to a five-year judiciary ban on politics.

The ban expired yesterday, but he is still outside Parliament - a leader without a seat. As duch, he will not be eligible to be Malaysia's Prime Minister even if his opposition alliance wins power.

That honour would have to go to someone else from one of the alliance's three member parties - Justice (Anwar's party led by his wife), the Democratic Action Party (DAP or PAS (Parti Islam).

However, they have all chosen Mr. Anwar as their de factor leader, so anybody other than he as Prime Minister would be impractical without creating a conflict that will threaten the partnership.

So far, they have stuck to the bargain.

This is the apparent reason that is holding back any movement for defectors - if indeed they are waiting at the winds - to take action.

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) controls an unprecedented 82 of Parliament's 222 seats, against the ruling Barisan's 140. It needs 30 government MPs to cross over to gain control of the country.

Its senior leaders have publicly said it already has 36 from East Malaysia - 20 from Saraway and 16 from Sabah - or more than enough, not including anything from the Malayan mainland.

To be Prime Minister, Mr. Anwar needs to win a seat through a by-election and he has said he is in no hurry. A period of six months is being bantered about.

One possibility who may give up her seat to make way for him is his wife, dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Permatang Pauh, Penang) or daughter, daughter Nurul Izzah (Lembah Pantai, Selangor).

Some observers, however, believe another possible candidate is the Justice Party Chief Minister of Selangor, who occupies both Parliament and state seats. He could give up his Parliament seat and still remains chief minister.

This planned entry into Parliament has to carefully crafted and implemented to ensure no one is unhappy. It also cannot be assumed that Mr. Anwar, who has so far acted very cautiously in his role to take over the government, will automatically win a by-election

The governing Barisann Nasional (BN) can be expected to invest heavily both in money and efforts to stop him.

Yesterday, the aspirant Prime Minister addressed a large crow to celebrate his end of political ban, and when police blocked his speech, Mr. Anwar relented:

"Let me tell you, we will rule the country someday," Anwar said after the incident. "So we will set a good example to obey the law." - By Seah Chiang Nee

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional component party leaders have dismissed as an empty boast Mr. Anwar's claim of being able to form a new federal government, New Straits Times reported.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the claim was mere "crazy talk". Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dr S. Vijayaratnam said it was wishful thinking on the part of Anwar.

There was no indication that BN MPs were wavering or wanting to join Pakatan Rakyat, he said. He said MPs in Sabah and Sarawak as well as in the peninsula had indicated collectively and individually their continued support for the BN.

MCA vice-president Dr Fong Chan Onn described the claim of the Pakatan Rakyat to take over the reins of government as hype. "I think it is also a distraction from the fact that all is not that well within the tripartite opposition coalition.

"I think it is better for them to resolve their differences, mainly Pas' agenda to form an Islamic state and DAP's fierce protest against it," he said.
NST