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©Today Online, Singapore (Used by permission)
by Nazry Bahrawi

A CONFIDENT Anwar Ibrahim met foreign correspondents based in Singapore yesterday and opened the door a wee bit more on his plans to grab power.

Once the former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and now torch-bearer for the Opposition has the numbers to make up a simple majority in Parliament, Mr Anwar said he will call for a vote of non-confidence in Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's government.

The numbers game is a simple one. Twenty-nine more seats — that is what his grand coalition called Pakatan Rakyat needs to send an embattled Mr Abdullah and his ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) packing.

But his audience did not seem totally convinced. A sense of expectation mixed with scepticism was evident among the foreign journalists, some of whom have followed his sensational roller-coaster political career with professional zeal.

Do you really have the numbers, or is it just good psychological warfare, asked veteran journalist Barry Wain, who is now writing a book on former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Anwar smiled somewhat coyly, then replied: "I've said it on April 14. Yes, we have the numbers."

Where does this confidence come from? Not wanting to give too much away, he said it came from reading the mood among the BN backbenchers. As though anticipating the follow-up question, the man who believes he is within kissing distance of becoming Prime Minister gave an example: Only three or four of Mr Abdullah's diehards — and not 30 or 40 parliamentarians — rush to his defence every time Umno's top leadership comes under attack.

Want more evidence? Well, look no further than what Dr Mahathir said recently.

Said Mr Anwar: "Even Mahathir has conceded: Yes, there is a possibility of Anwar taking over. He didn't say it is going to be a turmoil, or a disaster or politically disastrous for the country."

Earlier this month, Dr Mahathir warned Umno members to take Mr Anwar's threat seriously. He had said: "I first wanted to dismiss this possibility but on studying the situation I feel that there is a great danger."

With the opposition now controlling 82 out of 222 parliamentary seats, Mr Anwar said he needs only 30 BN lawmakers to cross over for the opposition to form the government to run the country with a simple majority.

His concentration is all on the economically-backward states of Sarawak and Sabah, making regular visits there and offering them higher oil royalties if the ruling coalition party members will defect to his side.

With Mr Anwar exuding confidence and with the Abdullah administration looking weaker by the day, what can the latter do to sidestep a looming checkmate kind of situation?

Political scientist Ahmad Nidzamuddin of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said: "Maybe, if Pak Lah steps down, and someone else is elected by the majority of the Umno MPs -— not necessarily Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak — and if somebody from Sabah or Sarawak is elected as his deputy, this could prevent the opposition from taking over Parliament."

There is one other question: Can Mr Anwar become the next PM since he is still not an MP? And what about his plans to fight a by-election?

A couple of constituencies have been identified but Mr Anwar said this plan is currently in limbo since he has not been given a clear date yet on when he could contest.

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