Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday he would topple the government by early next week despite a trip abroad by ruling coalition lawmakers that he claimed was aimed at thwarting his plans.
The three-party opposition alliance can seize power if at least 30 members of parliament defect from the National Front coalition, and Anwar said he would fly overseas if necessary to meet with lawmakers he hopes to lure to his side.
He has vowed for several months to take power by Tuesday.
About 50 National Front lawmakers left for a farming study tour in Taiwan earlier this week amid opposition accusations that coalition leaders had sent them there to keep them away from Anwar and to dissuade some of them from defecting.
Anwar claims to have made tacit pacts with dozens of lawmakers in recent months and insisted he was still “very much” on track for his target date of Tuesday.
“We’re working on it,” Anwar told reporters. “There are technical problems because [the lawmakers] have been shipped away ... God-willing, it will [still] happen. If need be, I will fly to Taipei.”
The government has denied the tour is politically motivated.
Anwar, who is battling a charge that he sodomized his former male aide, made the comments after a Sessions Court delayed a preliminary hearing for his sodomy trial.
Government prosecutors said yesterday that they wanted to transfer the case to a higher court because it had attracted widespread interest, including from international observers.
Anwar’s lawyers objected, saying the current judge was sufficiently qualified. The court will hear formal arguments from both sides on Sept. 24 before making a decision.
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