The Malaysian Insider

SEPT 18 - You got to hand it to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Two days after he missed his self-imposed deadline of forcing the collapse of the Abdullah administration through the cross over of Barisan Nasional MPs and seemed in danger of swapping credibility for ridicule, he has managed to put the government on the defensive. And probably buy himself some more time.

Today, he challenged Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to convene an emergency Parliament sitting before Sept 23 so that a motion of no-confidence can be tabled against the Prime Minister.

"We have the numbers. If he wants the details and doesn't believe me, then convene the emergency sitting. The numbers are increasing by the hour. But as of now, it is in excess of 31 MPs. This is not empty talk," Anwar said during a press conference today, adding that Abdullah has no choice but to negotiate with Pakatan Rakyat.

This is the first time since Independence that a sitting PM is being asked to convene a special Parliament session to have a motion of no-confidence tabled against him.

Anwar knows that Abdullah will not take the bait and will probably tell the Opposition leader to be patient and wait for Oct 13 when the House reconvenes.

This answer will:

# GIVE him the time he needs to work the ground and try and persuade some MPs to abandon BN for Pakatan Rakyat. Anwar has been meeting professionals, businessmen, a few former MPs and even members of some prominent Umno families in the past week asking them to join Parti Keadilan Rakyat. He has told a few of them that he has the numbers but was unwilling to share any names of the BN crossovers with them. Some of them have left the meetings - which have taken place at his home in Segambut or at the home of mutual friends - convinced that he does not have 31 BN MPs in his pocket. Others have been willing to give him the benefit of doubt.

# ALLOW him to portray the Abdullah administration as cowardly and unwilling to follow democratic practices. He said as much today noting that any delay to the request for an emergency Parliament session would be seen "as nothing short of a further sabotage of the democratic process and abuse of executive power."

# KEEP alive the prospect of the mass crossover and collapse of the Barisan Nasional. Sure, some seeds of doubt have taken root in the minds of people since the Sept 16 deadline came and went.  But in a country where hope in the government is a fast fading commodity, the public still want to believe that Anwar - who has fashioned himself as the saviour of the country can deliver on a promise.

The Opposition icon knows that failure to deliver 31 MPs and oust Abdullah and BN out of Parliament will hurt him in the court of public opinion. His latest challenge to Abdullah suggests that he needs more time to get the numbers.

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