KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has missed several deadlines to unseat the government, says he is running out of options to replace the ruling coalition.
Seven months after reducing the Barisan Nasional’s majority in Parliament in the March general election, he has failed to get BN lawmakers to cross over to the opposition and to table a vote of no confidence in Parliament in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The premier's response was to accelerate a power handover to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak, according to Bloomberg.
"I'm not saying we have no options left, but I'm saying it's getting to be much more difficult," Anwar said in an interview with Bloomberg yesterday.
His three-party Pakatan Rakyat coalition remains confident it can woo the 30 BN MPs it needs to form a majority in Parliament after taking control of 5 of 13 states in the March elections, he said.
Anwar's assessment, the most pessimistic since the election, suggests the transfer of power to Najib will be smooth, removing the uncertainty that has contributed to a 37 per cent decline in the benchmark stock index this year, the report said.
"It's only right for Anwar to clarify Pakatan's stand to the public," regarding their diminishing options, Bloomberg quoted Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, an independent research institute in Kuala Lumpur, as saying. "They should focus on administering the five states well and strengthening the bonds within the parties. This will demonstrate that they can be a formidable alternative federal government."
Anwar failed to meet his Sept 16 deadline to oust Abdullah, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the founding of Malaysia. He was also unable to persuade the prime minister to recall Parliament for a confidence vote or even meet with Abdullah to discuss a change of government.
According to Bloomberg, Anwar said he was exploring other options for a takeover that would be "peaceful and orderly" and adhere to the constitution, without elaborating.
Abdullah, 68, agreed this month to hand over power to Najib in March. Previously the transition had been planned for June 2010, three years before the next general election must be held.
In a separate interview, Bloomberg quoted former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as saying that "the opposition wants Abdullah to carry on, because they believe if he leads the party in the next election, their chances would be enhanced".
Dr Mahathir, the nation's longest-serving leader, handpicked Abdullah as his successor, a decision he said he now regrets.
Anwar returned to Parliament in a by-election on Aug 26. He was fired as deputy prime minister by Dr Mahathir in 1998 and jailed on charges of having illegal sex with a man and abuse of power. The sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004.
Anwar is currently facing similar sex charges after a 23-year-old former male aide filed a complaint with police.
"They don't have a case. That I know for a fact," Anwar told Bloomberg. "What they want to do is to embarrass me."
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