Economist: Hard for Anwar to form government by Sept 16

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat’s aim to form a government by Sept 16 will not happen even if PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wins the Permatang Pauh by-election, says a political economist.
Universiti Malaya’s Dr Terence Gomez said it would be difficult for Pakatan Rakyat to convince 30 Barisan Nasional MPs to cross over, which is the number the coalition needed to form a government.
“The number is just too big and it will take a lot to convince Sabah and Sarawak MPs to cross over especially when they have vouched their support for Barisan Nasional,” he told reporters after speaking at the “Political Change in Malaysia? A Review of the 2008 General Elections” forum organised by Universiti Malaya’s International Institute of Public Policy and Management.
Both Dr Gomez and fellow panellist and John Hopkins University’s assistant professor Dr. Bridget Welsh said Anwar would win the by-election but with a reduced majority.
Dr Welsh, who went to Permatang Pauh last week, said kasar (rough) politics on both sides had left a bad legacy where by-elections were concerned.
Dr Gomez said the country’s changing nature of politics should not be ignored as society was sending a clear message that race-based politics should be done away with.

tunku : i don't see winning permatang pauh in this by election will make him a prime minister on the 16th september as claimed by the great melodrama queen.even if he can get 30 mps, bn just need to get 2-3 mps from the other side to jump which they will get very easily. so we hope anwar stop dreaming for now, and if he really wants to be the pm concentrate in the next GE, not in this by election and concentrate too in his coming court case which might end him up in sungai buloh again.may be he can be the prime minister of the prisoners there.