14 May, 2008
Leslie Lau, The Malaysian Insider
By planting the idea in the early days after Malaysia’s March elections that Pakatan Rakyat, the fledgling Opposition alliance, is a "government-in-waiting," Anwar Ibrahim laid the foundation for the air of inevitability that seems to be haunting the Barisan Nasional (BN).
For many BN legislators in particular, it has become a question of when and not if, the Pakatan Rakyat takes over.
In recent weeks, Anwar has repeated, again and again, the message that his Pakatan Rakyat will form the government by September at the latest.
He has also subtly, but frequently, implied that there was a group of BN MPs waiting to cross over to PR.
Despite the lack of concrete evidence that Anwar can yet persuade the secular DAP and the Islamist PAS to forge a strong alliance, BN party members appear to be mesmerised by his rhetoric and his power of suggestion.
"The fact is even if Anwar manages to persuade enough BN reps to cross over, he will likely have to call fresh elections soon after that to get a fresh mandate. This will not be easy. It takes time," a senior DAP leader told The Malaysian Insider.
For now, Anwar, as an unelected but de facto leader of the Opposition, is concentrating on maintaining pressure on BN.
Speculation of a change in government reached its peak this week.
The threat of MPs from Sabah crossing over to PR had become a real enough threat to warrant PM Abdullah Badawi meeting senior leaders of the East Malaysian state to assuage their concerns over getting a raw deal from the federal leadership, which they so openly aired in recent days.
Anwar and his Opposition partners’ ability in managing perceptions has been so masterful that every time he calls for a press conference these days, reporters almost always expect him to declare that his alliance has breached the threshold for him to finally become prime minister.
"Timing is very important. There is a lot of interest from BN reps to join us, but it will take a lot of skill to manage it," a PKR legislator told The Malaysian Insider.
Amid this scenario, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will find it tough to govern.
Faced with an open revolt from many Umno warlords after the ruling coalition’s worst electoral showing in March, Abdullah has to now contend with demands for a bigger piece of the pie from East Malaysian parties.
Crucially, neither the DAP nor PAS has made any noise about forming the next federal government. The source of the spin and ambition has been exclusively PKR and Anwar.
PR leaders know that with every passing day, the Malaysian public will get used to the idea of them being in government, especially if they govern well enough in the five states it controls.
Every problem faced by the states will be blamed on the federal government.
And every reform introduced by Abdullah will be claimed as PR’s own victory.
Abdullah’s job has become tougher in recent weeks, as his administration struggles to manage an economy facing pressure from high oil prices and food security issues.
But meanwhile, Anwar will wait in the wings for the right moment to act.
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