In Kuala Lumpur
PRIME Minister Abdullah Badawi may have stayed away from Parliament during Anwar Ibrahim's swearing-in ceremony yesterday, but he had to face the opposition leader at today's Budget session.
It appeared as though the PM was finding it difficult to look Mr Anwar straight in the eye after the latter's massive win in Tuesday's by-election, but all he really had to do was to read out his prepared speech.
Mr Badawi did so with steady calm - he buried his head in the speech as he read it out, barely looking up except to sip water.
PM Abdullah delivers his Budget speech.
Source: AP
Indeed Mr Abdullah and his deputy Najib Razak may very well be avoiding Mr Anwar. The two did not appear to have made contact with the 61-year-old opposition leader in Parliament today.
But, Mr Abdullah cannot ignore the man for much longer, especially since Mr Anwar will be seated right across from him as head of the opposition in Parliament.
Having avoided making any official statements regarding Mr Anwar's return to Parliament, the silence has caused some to say the PM may be evading the issue altogether.
But today his speech did refer to "certain parties (trying) to destabilise the country by attempting to seize power by illegitimate means" - an oblique reference to Mr Anwar's threat of toppling the government by September 16.
"I will not let that happen", the PM stressed, again looking directly at his papers.
The speech, shorter than those in previous years, invited comments from Nasharuddin Mat Isa, MP for Parti Islam SeMalaysia, a partner of Anwar's Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the opposition pact. He joked that it seemed like the PM wanted to get his speech over and done with as quickly as possible.
Unaffected by all this, Mr Anwar made waves again today, on his second day in Parliament.
With hordes of pressmen following him as he left the hall after PM's speech, it proved practically impossible to get near the man, as cameramen and reporters jostled cheek-by-jowl to get cameras and tape recorders within 5 metres of the man. Any closer and one risked being trampled upon.
Mr Anwar, in his usual panache, criticised the Budget speech saying it did not contain any new ideas or policies to attract foreign direct investments and jumpstart the sluggish economy.
He also had the last word for the day on Mr Abdullah's veiled attack: "He sounded like a dictator."
The huddle around Anwar.
Source: AP