Brader Anwar - Semua Barang Ada Expiry Date Lah

absence of Anwar at PH press conference raised questions 

PKR downplayed absence of president and MPs 

MPs and Anwar had prior engagements

press conference yesterday was last minute

Malaysiakini quoted anonymous PKR MP saying Anwar not keen on PC

as he did not want to be used by Dr Mahathir

absence of PKR MPs and Anwar raised questions 

whether sentiment of distrust against Dr M still present in PKR

certain PKR MPs not comfortable with working with Dr M again

My comments :

Let me speak plainly. In the present status quo Brader Anwar's political future is finished. Brader Anwar is hanging out with Dr Mahathir who is actually a Trojan Horse inside his camp. Worse than that Dr Mahathir is a poison pill for Brader Anwar. Dr Mahathir has said plainly before - in his opinion Brader Anwar is not fit to be the PM. 

Those PKR MPs who are not comfortable with working with Dr M again have actually got it right.

24 months have passed. Dr Mahathir has resigned and basically disappeared from the scene. Yet Brader Anwar is still not the PM. And worse than that any chance of engineering a real vote of no confidence (later in the year when Parliament begins its full session) against the PM is also going to blunder. 

Why? Here is a hint : Brader Anwar and his gang are not in control of the No Confidence initiative.  Dr Mahathir and Shafee Apdal have 'taken ownership' of the No Confidence motion.

By right it should be Brader Anwar - who is the official Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. But it now looks like the real leader of the Opposition is Dr Mahathir. Brader Anwar's role  seems to be like the Hollywood ghost appearing here and there in the horror movie. 

Brader Anwar has a much larger problem - the DAP.  It is true that in the present scheme of things I rarely criticise the DAP. In the PH cabinet the DAP Ministers were the much better lot. Yes there were some bungles (tengga mandey was one, Ms Colgate went overboard on the plastic straws and a such) but on the whole Mr Lim Kit Siang has built up a smart bunch of MPs and Ministers.  Syabas Mr Lim.

But lets pull up at the R&R Stop for a minute. R&R meaning Race and Reality Stop. A sufficient number of Malays are no more supportive of the DAP (as compared to during GE14). Plus Dr Mahathir  totally screwed up the PH's 22 months in power.  So the DAP is not a good partner now if you are hoping to get the Malay vote. In fact the DAP is a liability. (This is no fault of the DAP alone but that is the way things are now).

So for Brader Anwar to continue hanging out with the DAP means exactly that - you can hang out with them. And that is about all you can do.  And now your being "Leader of the Opposition" is also nothing to shout about. Dr Mahathir has usurped that role too.

If Brader Anwar wants to remain relevant in Malay politics he has no choice but to gather as many PKR MPs as he can muster and negotiate with Tan Sri Muhyiddin and UMNO.  If Brader Anwar can bring say 40 PKR MPs with him, he can have a solid bargaining position with both Muhyiddin and UMNO. 

And Brader Anwar must be realistic - the No 1 spot does not seem likely but other types of horse trading is entirely feasible. 

What are Brader Anwar's other options? 

Well he can give interviews with The New York Times. 

Brader Anwar must realise that in his present trajectory the New York Times will soon not interview him anymore.  Even the Katmandu Times will not bother to call him.  Semua barang ada expiry date lah.