Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday admitted to missing a self-imposed deadline for toppling the government, but claimed he now had more than enough parliamentary defections to seal his takeover bid.
Anwar, 61, had said he would lead a three-party opposition alliance to seize power from the ruling National Front coalition by September 16 through government lawmakers wanting to defect, reported dpa.
Anwar's People's Alliance coalition is 30 members short of a majority in the 222-member Parliament.
"We now have a slight majority, an excess of 31 members of parliament," Anwar told a packed media conference Tuesday.
He declined to reveal the exact number or the names of the lawmakers, saying they would be subjected to harassment or possibly even detention.
The charismatic leader said he has requested to meet with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give him a list of the defecting lawmakers so that he can hand over power to the opposition voluntarily. But Abdullah has not responded to his request.
"I will suggest strongly, even to the extent of appealing, in the name of economic and political stability, as a responsible sitting prime minister, for him to accede to the need to negotiate."
However, Abdullah was quoted by local media as dismissing Anwar's claims as "merely a dream."
Still, Anwar said he was optimistic that Abdullah would eventually agree to meet him "in a day or two," but issued a warning to the embattled premier not to "test their patience."
"We will give him some time to think of this.
"He's a politician under siege, so you can forgive him for sounding desperate," Anwar said.
"We're not giving an ultimatum, but there is a limit to one's patience. We don't even need to be patient - we have the numbers," he said.
Anwar said the opposition wanted to see a "peaceful transition of power," and pledged that the newly-formed government would rule the country with wisdom and clamp down on widespread corruption.
"This is a very important moment in the history of our country," said Anwar.
If Anwar's claims are to be believed and he succeeds in his ambition of becoming prime minister, it would be a remarkable come-back for the former deputy prime minister who was sacked in 1998 and imprisoned on corruption and sodomy charges.
The sodomy conviction was overturned in 2004 after he had served six years in jail for corruption.
Anwar was recently charged with allegedly raping a former male aide, and awaits trial. He has dismissed both sodomy accusations as conspiracies to thwart his political ascent.
Aside from battling Anwar's looming threat of a takeover, embattled premier Abdullah has been fighting off growing dissent from within his own party.
The country plunged into political and economic instability after the National Front lost its two-thirds majority in parliament along with control of five states to Anwar's opposition.