Anwar might be within weeks of being toppled.
BN has, for all intents and purposes, left him. Judging by how five PKR MPs have recently criticised Anwar for withdrawing constituency funding from three rebellious PKR MPs, it is doubtful whether Anwar is still in full command of his own party.
Even his own daughter has abandoned him by resigning her post as the PKR number two last week.
After its national convention this Saturday, DAP might not be with him either.
If DAP also chooses to abandon Anwar's administration, it will be near impossible for Anwar to continue maintaining his reign.
That being the case, it is once again time to revisit the question: If not Anwar, then whom?
Now, I believe that the one and only condition as to who will replace Anwar is that it must be a Malay.
Although constitutionally, the Prime Minister of the country does not have to be a Malay, in terms of having the inner confidence to rule, it is likely that only a Malay leader can rule the entire federation.
Our country, if you notice, tends to run more on the basis of an empire than it does a kingdom.
A kingdom is composed of one people, who are ruled by a king who also identifies with the people he rules.
An empire, on the other hand, is composed of many different groups of people, and they are ruled by an emperor, who doesn't necessarily identify with them.
I would argue that the leaders of minorities in the country — be they Chinese, Indian or Iban — have the internal confidence of a king, in that they can only rule their own people, but not people they don't identify with.
In our country, the only leader that is likely to have the internal confidence to rule people that they don't identify with is a Malay leader.
That being the case, I would argue that there are six possibilities as to who could be the Malay leader that replaces Anwar as the next PM of Malaysia.
### Number 1: Zahid Hamidi
As much as I hate to admit it, the UMNO and BN leader Zahid Hamidi is certainly a frontrunner in becoming the next PM of the country.
He is already the Deputy Prime Minister. The party and coalition he leads, UMNO and BN, are currently on a winning streak.
However, Zahid is also likely the least popular Malay leader there today, not only amongst the Malays, but amongst Malaysians in general.
As unpopular as Anwar is, Zahid is even more unpopular than him.
That being the case, it is difficult to see what the point is of replacing an unpopular Anwar, who has not managed race relations well or instituted any reforms, with an even more unpopular figure like Zahid, who is unlikely to be able to manage race relations better than Anwar.
And being the recipient of 47 DNAA decisions, he is not only unlikely to advance the cause of reform, but is one of the main reasons why Anwar is seen to have failed to institute reforms.
So although by position, party momentum, tenure, experience and proximity to power, Zahid is a frontrunner to becoming the next PM, his extreme unpopularity and bad reputation amongst the people dims his chances.
### Number 2: Tok Mat
The UMNO number two, Tok Mat, is a much more preferable and popular choice than Zahid, with a chance of managing race relations better than Anwar as well as instituting at least some degree of reform.
The fact that under his leadership, UMNO and BN managed to capture his home state of Negeri Sembilan last week is also giving him a winner's glow.
Tok Mat is likely not only the choice preferred by UMNO and BN, he is likely the choice from UMNO that is preferred by both Malays and non-Malays.
His only drawback is that it is yet to be seen how he might overcome Zahid as the UMNO and BN number one, in order to be in the necessary position to become the next PM of the country.
### Number 3: Abang Jo
If fortune favours him, the Premier of Sarawak might also be in the running to become the next PM of Malaysia.
Although Abang Jo is only in control of one state, he is firmly in control of over 20 MPs, which might be a number that could push him to the top post in the federation in an election where the result is indecisive.
Abang Jo is also seen as a proponent of the "Sarawak way", which is seen by many, even those in the Peninsular, as a more inclusive and less divisive manner of handling race relations in the federation.
While we don't know how Abang Jo will handle institutional reforms, there is no reason to believe that he will not handle it better than anyone else.
If an East Malaysian is elected as the next PM of the country, it might also solve one of our major problems — which is the division between East and West Malaysia.
The main problem with Abang Jo is that he is tied very intimately with Sarawak.
That being the case, he might only have the inner confidence of a "king", which is to say that he might only be able to rule the people he identifies with, and not possess the inner confidence of an "emperor" to rule the various ethnic groups that make up the federation.
Also, being an East Malaysian, he might find it difficult to handle the difficult racial and religious situation in the Peninsular, where anything from a pair of socks to an upside-down flag can trigger a nationwide uproar.
### Number 4: Dr Sam
The newly minted Perikatan Nasional chairman, Dr Ahmad Samsuri, might find his political fortune shining brightly in 2026 because, other than being elected as the chairman of PN, if the stars align right for him, he might find himself as the next PM of the country as well.
After throwing off the lethargic and weak leadership of Muhyiddin earlier this year, PN is looking increasingly revitalised and rejuvenated.
It is a major component of the Malay unity that has garnered decisive victories in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
Dr Sam's main advantage is that although he belongs in the conservative Islamic party PAS, he is on his own seen as a professional and moderate figure who could appeal to a majority of Malaysians.
His main drawback, however, is that he is still seen as a subordinate to the clerical rule headed by Hadi Awang of PAS, which has only limited appeal amongst the more conservative sections of the Malay Muslim population in the Peninsular.
### Number 5: Hamzah Zainuddin
If fortune favours him, the former Bersatu number two and current president of Parti Wawasan could also be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Technically, it is actually Hamzah who is supposed to be the chairman of PN, not Dr Sam.
The only reason why Hamzah is not the chairman of PN is because Muhyiddin Yassin, the leader of Bersatu, refused to give way to Hamzah, despite the fact that most of Bersatu wanted Hamzah to take over from Muhyiddin.
That most of Bersatu wanted Hamzah to take over from Muhyiddin is apparent from the fact that after Hamzah was sacked from Bersatu and forced to start his own party, a whopping 19 of Bersatu's MPs followed Hamzah, while only six stayed behind with Muhyiddin.
The fact that Hamzah is still the head of the opposition in Parliament despite being sacked from Bersatu also indicates that he is considered a major leader within the opposition fold.
If we go into general election mode soon, it is almost certain that Hamzah and Dr Sam will be the opposition's poster boys for the election.
The only question is whether it will be a Hamzah-Dr Sam pairing or a Dr Sam-Hamzah pairing.
If it is the former rather than the latter, and if the opposition does win the next election — which it could likely do if the conditions are favourable — then it might indeed come to pass that Hamzah will be the next PM of our country.
### Number 6: Anwar Ibrahim Himself
Although it would be absurd for Anwar Ibrahim to be toppled prematurely as the PM of the country just to be reinstalled as the PM of the country, that is no reason why Anwar himself might not return to become the 11th Prime Minister of the country.
Absurdity has an uncanny way of forming the reality of our country.
Even in its weakened state, PH is still a major force in our political landscape, and it might come to pass that it will be PH again that secures the most number of seats in the next election.
Anwar is, by far, the only figure in PH who can serve as its PM candidate.
So, for all you know, even after he is toppled because everyone from his own party to his most trusted allies, and both the Malay and non-Malay population in the country, has lost faith in his leadership, we might still have to accept him back.
We might have to , because the answer to the question of "If not Anwar, then whom?" might simply be "no one".
Anyway, let us wait for the decision of the DAP delegates at its national conference this Saturday, to see which way the cookie shall crumble.
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