For Anwar to become PM...

As a matter of fact, the elections are well over now and the world knows the outcome. You can bring it to the court if you are not happy with the outcome, which is the rule of the game in Westminster style democracy where the party winning the most number of seats will form the government while electoral disputes are to be settled in the court.

Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily

Anwar has said he would quit politics and go overseas lecturing if Pakatan failed to take Putrajaya in GE13.

The elections are now over, and will be soon a month behind us in another few days' time.

But Anwar is still very much alive in politics today.

The so-called political pledge is more often than not an empty talk whereby anyone can fabricate 100 excuses to mask a single promise.

So long as there are people still willing to believe, including the sayer himself, a pledge needs not always be one.

It doesn't really matter as Malaysians have learned to accept the reality that a pledge doesn't always have to be one, and that Anwar will continue to be active in politics post-May 5 and be looked upon as the country's next PM.

Five years on, if Anwar eventually becomes the PM, he will only be 71. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was first elected the US president.

The question is, will Anwar ever become the country's prime minister?

It's all up to him. He can keep indulging himself in endless campaigning and confrontational rallies, or opt for a more democratic way to prove his worth.

I wouldn't see any prospect from him if he goes with the former.

As a matter of fact, the elections are well over now and the world knows the outcome. You can bring it to the court if you are not happy with the outcome, which is the rule of the game in Westminster style democracy where the party winning the most number of seats will form the government while electoral disputes are to be settled in the court.

There isn't anything like mass protest rally in the game, or else the curtain will never fall on the elections.

Mobilising the masses to take to the street is not a long-term plan. The participants will get exhausted while the spectators get annoyed. The government mechanism must roll on and the society must be back on its track.

But Anwar still has an alternative, i.e. going by the rule of democracy in preparing himself for the next GE.

He doesn't have to quit politics for teaching as promised, but to remain in politics and ready himself for the premiership five years down the road, he must play his role well as the opposition leader right from this moment, and lead Pakatan in democratic parliamentary struggle.

With 89 parliamentary seats, three state administrations and the support from a little more than half the electorate, Pakatan actually has in hand an enormous and significant political forte.

Anwar's duty is to consolidate his PKR, turning it into a disciplined, vibrant pluralistic political entity boasting respectable ideologies that will boost its acceptance in the Malay society as well as East Malaysian hinterlands.

If the party continues to be embroiled in internal conflicts, aggravated by the omnipresence of political opportunists and vested interests, it will in the end be able to secure only Chinese support. Period.

A PKR like this will never take itself too far, nor its de facto leader to premiership.

As the opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim must lead Pakatan on the right path of growth, map out its strategies and future directions, including the setting up of a shadow cabinet to oversee the government administration.

Anwar must outline his governance policies and compete policy-wise with Barisan Nasional to prove that Pakatan is more capable of running the government.

Such a Pakatan should not have problem clinching more broad-based support from the rakyat, including those living in rural areas and East Malaysia.

It is utterly possible for Anwar to become the country's next PM, but this will depend very much on which way he takes.