THE timing couldn’t be any more perfect. 

Exactly seven months after seeing his chance at being prime minister grabbed from him, Anwar Ibrahim declared that he had the numbers to take Malaysia’s top job and form the government. 

Ironically, with help from lawmakers, who sided with his one-time ally Muhyiddin Yassin that fateful February 23 in the Sheraton Hotel in Petaling Jaya. 

Anwar’s announcement yesterday at the Le Meridien Hotel in Kuala Lumpur prompted a flurry of political reactions with one key confirmation from Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that several of his colleagues are now unhappy with Muhyiddin and his government that is exactly seven months in power. 

That unhappiness is not new, nor is it personal with either Muhyiddin or even Anwar seven months ago. 

It really is just part of Umno’s quest to take back power it lost in the 2018 general election by trying to force snap polls. 

This is the reality that Anwar has to face once Muhyiddin calculates the numbers and decides on one of a few options before him by this weekend. 

Muhyiddin can resign from the post, just like Dr Mahathir Mohamad did on February 24, and let the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decide after polling all 222 MPs. 

In the last week of February, the king did exactly that and came to the conclusion that Muhyiddin had the majority support, which has been proven in several votes in the Dewan Rakyat this past few months. 

But unlike Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin can also advise the king to dissolve the Dewan Rakyat and call for a general election. 

That option will not be palatable to Anwar as he has continuous stressed yesterday that he had “strong, formidable, convincing and workable majority” to form the government for the country’s good. 

That option will not be palatable to some of Muhyiddin’s allies too, such as Azmin Ali, or even PAS, who do not want to ditch the nearly three years of parliamentary mandate left to face the people. 

They will have to make promises that they have yet to fulfil in their seven months of power. And they will be judged by the voters without even fully enjoying the fruits of their political manoeuvrings. 

That option will also not be palatable to those left in the rump Pakatan Harapan, as their success in 2018 was a joint effort that has now collapsed without a rural-based Malay party in their pact. 

That option is also unpalatable to the then rural-based Malay party, Bersatu, as it will go to polls without its successful chairman, Dr Mahathir, in 2018.

The only beneficiaries will be Umno and the Sarawak political parties now propping up Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional. They will win more, even come out top and share the spoils without smaller parties like Bersatu. 

The “Sheraton move” on February 23 was to bring down the Mahathir government and deny Anwar his turn as prime minister, a tale that ironically began in September 1998.

The “Le Meridien move” yesterday is to bring down the Muhyiddin government, possibly make Anwar prime minister before breaking it up for the ultimate goal – snap polls for a new mandate that Umno knows it can get back after its historic loss in 2018.

Umno can make or break prime ministers, it has done so in the past and it can still do so now. 

Muhyiddin knew that in February and took his chance. It took Anwar seven months from that date to show he can do the same. 

Yet, in the end, nothing is ever settled until Umno gets its way and regains Putrajaya as the main party in any alliance. – September 24, 2020.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insight.