20,000 throng Anwar’s open house

Anwar speaks about the political transition in Umno a couple of days ago

Some 20,000 people flocked to Anwar’s Raya open house in Cherok Tokun on mainland Penang this morning.

According to my contact at the scene, reporters pressed Anwar for a timeline for the parliamentary defections from the BN to take place.

“Soon,” he said. “Very soon.”

Later this afternoon, at the PKR Bayan Baru service centre on the island, a couple of hundred people turned up to witness Anwar accepting the membership forms of some 5,000 Indian Malaysians who had applied to join PKR, said my source at the scene. About 3,500 of these applicants are said to be ex-MIC members.

Yesterday evening, Anwar took a flight to Kota Bharu, where together with Nik Aziz he addressed a public rally. In an entry on his blog, he estimated the crowd to be 60,000.

He told the rally that a letter had already been sent to the Agong, reports Harakah Daily:

“Malah Pakatan Rakyat sudah menghantar surat kepada Yang di Pertuan Agong bagi memaklumkan perkembangan terkini dalam Pakatan Rakyat yang sudah ada simple majority bagi membentuk kerajaan,” katanya.

Pada ceramah itu sekali lagi beliau menegaskan Islam menjadi tunggak utama kerajaan baru sebagaimana yang termaktud dalam perlembagaan.

Katanya menjadi keutamaan Pakatan Rakyat untuk terus memartabatkan Islam dan PAS tetap menjadi penaju utama kepada kerajaan baru.

Menurutnya, setiap dasar kerajaan akan diputuskan bersama dengan parti-parti Pakatan Rakyat dan bukan menjadi dominan kepada pihak tertentu sahaja.

On Monday, when Parliament resumes after a recess, the spotlight will fall on the Opposition Leader, who is likely to focus on the Budget and the economic challenges ahead. Observers will be watching closely for any hint of defections.