By Shannon TeohKUANTAN, July 20 - Looking tired from a week of high drama, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last night predicted impending elections if his plan to capture Putrajaya by September 16 fails.
This is the opposition leader's first admission that his bold prediction of forming the federal government by Malaysia Day could just be that, a prediction.
"Even if we don't come to power, we will have elections very quickly," Anwar told a 10,000-strong crowd in Kuantan days after being arrested for questioning in a sodomy case.
The arrest and sodomy claims were an exact repeat of similar events a decade ago that toppled him from within a heart beat to be Prime Minister after his former mentor Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The 60-year-old politician also still found it within him to reply to the latest developments in the sodomy case.
"It's already been three weeks - they'd have done whatever they wanted to by now. If they are truly not involved, there would be no case to begin with," he said of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi's assurance that the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail would not be involved in the probe.
He had accused both of fabricating evidence in his black eye assault case in 1998, adding Musa "Tilam" also brought in a mattress for the first sodomy case in 1999.
In response to Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain's statement today that Anwar was not asked to strip during his medical examination on the night of his arrest, the former deputy prime minister insisted that there were specific instructions that doctors had followed including an "examination of private parts front and back" and that he refused only to have his nude photo and DNA sample taken.
"If ministers want to fitnah (slander), they should not ask their officers to do it for them," he said when addressing the denial of his undressing by the hospital's director.
Reporters gathered had been hopeful of getting more substantial answers on these two fronts at a press conference that was to occur after his 50-plus-minute address but it was cancelled due to Anwar's state of fatigue.
The "sixth prime minister" - as he was referred to during this assembly in Kg Razali just outside Kuantan - has pressed on with his nationwide tour despite stating that he had aggravated his back problem while sleeping on a concrete floor when detained overnight by police on Wednesday.
He said that he was compelled to proceed with his speaking appointments around the country to explain to people the truth of matters as he felt "indebted and grateful" for the support and prayers that have been extended to him.
His point of using these ceramahs as a way of spreading news was salient as the crowd reacted as strongly as audiences in previous legs of his tour.
Touching on issues such as fuel prices, the current administration's shortcomings and bringing Pakatan Rakyat into power, there was no contempt born of familiarity detected last night.
Indeed, recent developments have allowed him to add in one-liners such as "instead of managing the economy, they're managing people's private parts."
In what he called the "best reception he's had in Pahang", he was preceded by Rasah MP Anthony Loke Siew Fook, who has become DAP's representative spokesman in recent opposition ceramahs and opposition chief whip in Parliament, Azmin Ali.
The former poured scorn on the current sodomy allegations, sarcastically advising Anwar's accusers to go for a sofa this time, "maybe something nice from Lorenzo", in reference to the posh condominium in which Saiful Bukhari Azlan alleged that Anwar had sodomised him.
But the crowd were really there for Anwar, whose arrival in the midst of Azmin's speech elicited a joking sulk of "Now whatever I say will fall on deaf ears. I might as well stop."
Anwar also harped on how BN were so afraid of him entering Parliament that they had obtained a court order to prevent him from entering within a 5km radius of it.
"The police had obtained a court order but I was also supposed to go and record my statement at the IPK KL the same day, which is within that area. They can't even think this through properly."
He hinted however, at an impending by-election for him to take his place in Parliament, saying that "I will announce full details shortly and God willing I will be in Parliament."
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