PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim may have won the Permatang Pauh seat and claimed his stake in Parliament, but he would not be able to get 30 MPs to switch to the Opposition to form the government, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
The former prime minister said the Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser might think he could "buy" MPs to jump to his camp but it would be impossible for him to "outbid the other bidders who have more money."
"The Permatang Pauh by-election results is a clear message for Barisan Nasional, Umno and its leaders. Within five months after the March 8 polls, Barisan lost the seat again, with a bigger majority than the last time.
"This is not only because the by-election was held in Permatang Pauh and one of the candidates was Anwar Ibrahim. I believe this will be the trend at other places as well and those who came out to vote on Tuesday had voted for the Opposition," he said when met at his office on Wednesday.
Anwar won the Permatang Pauh seat with a thumping majority of 15,671. His victory marks a return to Parliament for the PKR adviser after an enforced absence of 10 years.
With the victory, Anwar will take over as the parliamentary Opposition leader. The PKR de facto leader last won the Permatang Pauh seat in 1995 with a majority of 23,515 votes.
Dr Mahathir predicted that with Anwar back in Parliament, he would be making "life very difficult" for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"I don't think Abdullah is a match for Anwar. This man (Anwar) can convince even the devil to follow him. He is going to raise all kinds of issues and questions and will demand and pressure the Prime Minister for answers. It is going to be a tough time for Barisan," he said.
Dr Mahathir said Abdullah, his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and other leaders should not close their "ears and eyes" to the people's message and neither should they blame the Permatang Pauh defeat on sabotage or other elements.
"The people sent a message at the March 8 polls and again in the Permatang Pauh by-election. Leaders should sit up and take stock of this. They want changes and they want it quick. Not in June 2010.
"If changes are made two years from now, then Umno will face an uphill task to gain strength and the people's confidence. If they fail to do so, then Barisan can expect defeat in the 13th general election," he said, adding he was willing to come back to the party's fold and work towards reviving it if Abdullah step down before the 2010 deadline.
He said Umno should be concerned that it was losing in popularity and appeal, claiming that even DAP had become more appealing to Malays, referring to former Transparency International Malaysia chairman Tunku Aziz Tunku Ibrahim becoming the DAP's latest recruit.
