Even as former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was lashing out at his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Petaling Jaya Tuesday (1 Apr), the comeback kid, Anwar Ibrahim, was announcing the formation of an alternative coalition, or a government- in- waiting, in his parlance.

In the wake of the National Front (BN) ruling coalition’s disastrous outing at the country’s recent general elections, there has been increasing calls for Abdullah to step down.

Dr Mahathir launched his strongest attack yet on him: “Anyone else would have already resigned but (Abdullah) has no shame," Mahathir, who hand-picked Abdullah to succeed him in October 2003, told a cheering crowd.

The BN is almost in tatters now not only losing its two-third majority in parliament for the first time as well as five state governments to the opposition as well as all but one seat in the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory. Although it managed to secure the remaining Malay heartland states of Perlis and Terengganu, Abdullah couldn’t retain the incumbent Mentris Besar in these two states due to pressure from the Palace.

Meanwhile, Anwar, who was sacked, disgraced and subsequently jailed in 1999 following his fallout with Mahathir, introduced the government-in-waiting: “The state governments of Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor will also be known as Pakatan Rakyat state governments,” Anwar told a press conference after meeting DAP and PAS leaders Tuesday.

Semantics is important so, hence forth, they are no longer to be referred as Opposition but Pakatan Rakyat, he alternative coalition.

Previously the three parties could not formally come together as an alternative to the Barisan as the Chinese-based DAP could not come to terms with PAS’ Islamic state ideology. But with Anwar’s PKR as a bridge, all three formalised the new coalition Tuesday.

PKR, DAP and PAS together, apart from winning control of the five states in the March 8 general election, also won 82 of the 222 parliamentary seats at stake.

“We will work towards common principles such as justice, good governance, human rights, accountability and transparency, “Anwar said in the presence of DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, his wife PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Anwar said the policies of the state governments would be in line with the policies of Pakatan Rakyat and that a joint secretariat would be tasked with building the foundation and framework of the coalition.

Is this a marriage of convenience? “I believe this is something that is going to be there, not only for political expedience but for the medium and long-term,” Anwar replied.

He added that a convention for all Pakatan Rakyat MPs and state assemblymen would be held on April 27 and that the name Pakatan Rakyat was still awaiting confirmation by the respective parties.

Can PAS and DAP work together in view of their differences over the thorny issue of Islamic state? “I do not see any difficulty. It was not mentioned in the PAS manifesto and has not been mentioned for a long time. It is no longer an issue,” Anwar said.

With Tuesday’s announcement of the new alternative coalition to the Barisan Nasional, the country’s political landscape is set to change, from a single party to a two-party parliament. (By BOB TEOH/ MySinchew)