SEPT 16 - THE BOMB THAT NEVER EXPLODED

By S. Retnanathan
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Soon after the general election on March 8 this year, the date Sept 16 began to top conversations, be it at coffeeshops or lobbies of five-star hotels.

Every opportunity that the man-on-the-street found to strike a conversation
with someone from a political party, even if that someone was just an ordinary
member, the date almost always came to the fore.

Sept 16 was the date most referred to by the media in the last six months,
so much so that even those who were oblivious to Malaysian politics, or politics
as a whole, latched on to it as if it was some feel-good medication.

The date became a focal point after People's Justice Party (Parti Keadilan
Rakyat) (PKR) advisor Anwar Ibrahim dropped a bombshell less than a month after
the general election, claiming he had enough Barisan Nasional (BN) members of
parliament (MPs) wanting to cross over to the loosely formed pact of PAS, DAP
and PKR dubbed People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat) (PR), by that date.

Anwar had also insisted that the opposition coalition would "take over"
Putrajaya, the federal administrative capital, on Sept 16.

He reinforced his prediction after winning the Permatang Pauh parliamentary
by-election last month, this time taking it a step further by stating that he
had a "comfortable number" of BN MPs to ensure a smooth crossover to enable PR
to take over the government, which had been in the hands of the BN since the
nation gained independence 51 years ago.

"Yes. We have an adequate number, especially from Umno (the backbone of the
BN). The understanding is that I will announce (the crossovers) after my return
to Parliament," he trumpeted then.

Anwar made his return to Parliament on Aug 28, two days after he had won
Permatang Pauh, still adamant about not wanting to divulge details of the
so-called defections and only saying that he was on track to achieving the
elusive dream of forming the next federal government.

"I will only name them at the right time. That is the understanding ...
agreement with my friends (the BN MPs concerned)," said Anwar on Sept 6 in
Jakarta, steadfast that his dream of forming the next Malaysian government would
materialise on Sept 16 and that he faced no problem in achieving this.

In the March 8 general election, the ruling BN suffered an unprecedented
defeat, losing four states -- Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor -- and failing
to recapture Kelantan which remained in the hands of PAS. It also lost its
two-third majority in parliament when it won 140 seats. The Opposition had 82
seats.

In any other country, this 58-seat majority would be regarded as huge and
would not have raised any concern. But in Malaysia, alarm bells started ringing
because never in the history of the BN has its majority been sliced to this
level.

The opposition needed just 30 seats or so to "topple" the BN government and
form a new government with a simple majority of 112 seats.

Of the 140 parliamentary seats won by the BN, Sabah and Sarawak contributed
54 or nearly 40 per cent, and this is what Anwar exploited in the beginning.

Soon after announcing that he had the BN MPs, the former deputy prime
minister, who was sacked from the government in 1998 on sodomy and misuse of
power charges, claimed that the bulk of his defecting MPs would come from these
two East Malaysian states.

However, with Sept 16 nearer at hand, he said those in power would be
surprised that the MPs would be mostly from Umno or other peninsula-based BN
component parties.

This charge by Anwar was dismissed by the present government led by Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, allaying fears that BN MPs were ready
to switch camps.

Even at a gathering Monday night at the Kelana Jaya stadium in Petaling
Jaya, attended by some 12,000 ardent supporters, Anwar insisted once again that
he had the sufficient majority to form the government.

He also claimed to have sent a letter to Abdullah Monday afternoon on the
list of BN MPs who would cross over to People's Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat). But
there was no such
list.
Anwar, the Opposition leader in parliament, said at a news conference
Tuesday he wanted to meet Abdullah to ensure that the prime minister handed over
power in a "peaceful" manner and promise that the government would not invoke
the Internal Security Act to detain any MP who wanted to join PR.

This was the Sept 16 he had talked about over the last six months. There
were no names, no list or any announcement of any MP crossing over but only
insistence that he would form the government and that he wanted a smooth
transition of power.

He now wants to meet Abdullah to ask the prime minister not to declare a
state of emergency or damage the economy when in fact his (Anwar's) actions over
the last few months had created doubt among investors. Abdullah, in the
meantime, has been going about his duties unperturbed by Anwar's claims.

At a news conference Tuesday, Abdullah said the BN government was strong
and
would continue to discharge its duties to the people.

Abdullah told the people not to be swayed by the propaganda of the
opposition that it would take over the government, and described Anwar's plan to
take over the government today and become the prime minister as a mere dream.

Abdullah said it had always been Anwar's trademark to say things to
attract
public attention and that after his failure today, he (Anwar) would change the
date.

Asked of the worries expressed by the people on the current political
development, Abdullah said there was nothing to worry about as it was merely a
political deception by Anwar.

"I am sure (the government of) Sept 16 will not happen. Pakatan Rakyat
(PR) is banking on our party members to leave us but our people will not desert
us," the Umno president and BN chairman had been reported as saying earlier.


PKR also took the political drama to a different level when it sent five
senior party leaders to "chase" after some 49 BN MPs who flew to Taiwan on Sept
7 on a week-long agriculture study tour.

Tian Chua, the PKR information chief who led the five, said before leaving
the country that the opposition team would try to meet the BN MPs in Taipei but
fell short of saying why they wanted to meet the BN MPs.

Anwar's repeated claims that he would set up government by today only
fuelled talk that the opposition leaders were hot on the heels of the BN MPs
with the intention of coaxing them over to the opposition.

Some observers view the latest action of Anwar as an effort to destabilise
the present government using "political fear tactics".

There are also claims that he wanted to divert public attention from his
ongoing sodomy case where he is accused of having sodomised his former aide,
Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

Despite repeated denials from BN MPs, including those from Sabah and
Sarawak, ministers, leaders of the BN coalition and those associated with the
nation's corridors of power, Anwar had insisted that he would make it (form the
government) by Sept 16.

Observers also believe that if Anwar did indeed have the numbers, PR
members would have marched to National Place (Istana Negara) to ask the king to
remove Abdullah as the prime minister.

But as the day dawned, it seemed like Anwar had dropped an empty bombshell
in the days after the nation's 12th general election, and the only impact it
created was a minor thud on the ground.

-- BERNAMA