Sept 16, Anwar Hottest Menu At Break Fast Dos

Pakatan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his ambitious plan to take over the federal government on Sept 16 have been the favourite menu of each and everyone at breakfast gatherings during this Ramadan.

In fact, Anwar has been in the limelight since the last general election. He made his return to Parliament on Aug 28, two days after he had won the Permatang Pauh by-election.

His political future hinged on this by-election which he won by a landslide victory. The crucial vote returned him to parliament after a decade long absence.

The March elections handed the opposition control of five states and a third of parliamentary seats. The former deputy prime minister has to persuade 30 lawmakers to switch sides from the ruling coalition in order to gain the majority needed to form a new government.

In the run up to Sept 16, Anwar and his “dream” of forming a new government, topped the list of topics at these breakfast events, with every corporate executive hosting these functions, fishing for the latest juicy piece of news from the media.

This was despite some other developments such as the controversial remarks by Umno Vice-President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who called on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to reconsider the 2010 transition plan.

Muhyiddin who is Minister of International Trade and Industry has since said that he will not resign from his ministerial post as demanded by some of his Cabinet colleagues.

Following this, the arrests of Malaysia Today news portal editor Raja Petra Kamarudin, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng under the Internal Security Act (ISA) also drew mix reactions from the public.

The latest to hog the limelight was the outburst from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim on the use of the ISA on the three individuals last week.

Prior to the controversial remarks by Muhyiddin, the ISA detentions and Zaid’s criticism of the ISA, the study tour by 41 Barisan Nasional MPs to Taipei recently was also the entrée at these breaking fast dinners.

Many had speculated that the trip was planned to derail the Pakatan Rakyat adviser’s plan to topple the government on Sept 16 by getting Barisan MPs to jump ship, although many quarters have denied this. Most of them will return on Sept 17.

Terengganu state PAS commissioner Datuk Mustafa Ali said PKR had not officially consulted PAS on the proposed takeover of the government.

“Anwar seems to be controlling our lives, even when we break our fast, we are still talking about him,” says one top corporate executive at a breaking fast event sponsored by Scomi Group Bhd for Bernama staff at Wisma Bernama last night.

Whichever side of the fence you are in, the debate on Anwar’s dream of forming a new government continues, with each and every individual at these dining tables giving their own interpretation and comments.

At one of these functions last week, some journalists from Suara Keadilan were at the same table with me, and they were of course confident the Sept 16 plan would materialize.

But in the spirit of Ramadan, discussions were under control, with no “untoward incidents.” Most Muslims, after nearly 13 hours of fasting, prefer to enjoy the lavish buffer spreads at the hotel.