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SINGAPORE : Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim claims he has enough Parliamentarians from the ruling party willing to jump ship to the opposition to form a government soon.
But a politician from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), Mukhriz Mahathir, has dismissed it as mere psychological warfare.
Mr Mukhriz is the son of former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamed, and currently a Parliamentarian from the Northern state of Kedah.
He is in Singapore as part of the Malaysian delegation to the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly meeting.
Journalists were eager to get his take on political developments across the Causeway. They wanted to know if the de facto opposition leader Anwar's September 16 takeover plan is on schedule.
"We don't see any of our MPs (members of Parliament) moving that way. As you are well aware, I am one of the more critical MPs within the National Front, critical of my own leadership, but you don't see me jumping ship to the other side. So I believe he is just putting us off balance due to the by-elections," said Malaysian MP Mukhriz.
On the by-election in Permatang Pauh, Mukhriz makes no bones that the Barisan Nasional candidate is the underdog and a major achievement would be to reduce Anwar's vote margin.
He said: "Whether we can win or not, that is a big question. But I am happy to say that the response by the voters towards our own candidate is very positive because he is the local man there and he speaks the lingo.
"I think we have a small chance... A victory for Barisan would of course signal the end of Anwar Ibrahim as the so-called prodigal son of Permatang Pauh. Quite a majority of people does not see him as a potential prime minister, including people from the opposition."
Mukhriz believes a Barisan Naional victory in Permatang Pauh would also indicate a major shift in what has been coined the political tsunami in Malaysia in the March general elections. - CNA /ls
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