KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has missed the boat to Putrajaya, but he is still unable to avoid that inevitable question about the premiership.

It used to revolve around when he was going to get the top job, but now it is about whether he is still aspiring to be the prime minister.

Mr Anwar has often struggled to answer the question and still does, going by his rather awkward reply during an interview with a radio station. He did not dismiss the possibility although he refrained from giving an affirmative answer.

So much water has flowed under the bridge and the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president knows a golden moment has passed and he will never again come as close to the premiership as he did in the last government.

But his former deputy president and now Senior Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali did not hold back and responded with a cynical one-word tweet: "Kesian" (Pity).

Some of Mr Azmin's Twitter followers did not understand it, but among those who did, some loved it, others felt it was unbecoming.

To look on the bright side, it means there are people out there who think that Mr Anwar's journey is not over and that he is the opposition's best candidate for the premiership.

At the same time, Mr Anwar is a polemic figure, especially among the Malays.

"Anwar today is not like before, he has lost that leadership spark, especially after he failed to control his own party, " said Bersatu supreme council member Akhramsyah Sanusi. Actually, Pakatan Harapan has more pressing issues than stressing about who will be their prime minister candidate.

"Something which politicians need to know is that people are sick and tired of the politics they saw the last few years, " said political commentator Khaw Veon Szu.

"Their priorities now are their health, bread-and-butter issues and how to get around the invisible enemy known as Covid-19."

The movement control order has not only given the new government breathing space to get its act together, but it also allowed the opposition to nurse its wounds after their shocking fall from power.

Mr Anwar has been the first to bounce back.

He has maintained a visible political presence, he is sought-after for interviews and took part in a remote Pakatan parliamentary roundtable a few days ago.

"He has to keep the political thermos flask warm, " said Mr Jeff Ooi, the DAP politician-turned-newspaper columnist.

He suggested that Democratic Action Party (DAP) leaders were in a state of shock from having the red carpet pulled from under their feet.

"I think the top leadership in DAP has yet to figure out the next course of action. The ball is in Pakatan's court on the matter of a comeback, " said Mr Ooi.

Pakatan now makes up the biggest opposition ever in Parliament which gives them a big voice. Yet the coalition is at its most vulnerable since its formation.

The brief stint in power has dented its credibility in a way that few could have imagined.

"It has been a tough wake-up call for the Chinese who gave 95 per cent of their votes to Pakatan, " said Mr Ooi.

They sent so many rockets to Parliament but the fleet of rockets could not hold off the ultra-Malay pressure or defend Chinese sentiments on issues such as Jawi in schools or the Unified Examination Certificate.

The number of rockets in the government did not equate to clout and too many mistakes were made.

Education, said one senior DAP leader, is an emotional issue for the Chinese and because of that, the Deputy Education Minister should have been one of the most crucial appointments for the party.

"Instead of picking someone mature and credible, they chose a young MP who was unable to cope with the politics and complexity of the job, " said the senior DAP figure.

According to Mr Ooi, DAP, which has 42 MPs and scores of assemblymen at the state level, will have the most soul-searching to do among the Pakatan parties.

Despite the Chinese disappointment, DAP remains the biggest force in the community. The party's problem is how to repair its standing among the Malays.

At the height of the political crisis in February, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had reportedly told a meeting of top Pakatan leaders at his residence that people in Bersatu did not want to work with DAP.

An insider said that during a four-eyed meeting between Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Mr Anwar shortly before the Pakatan government collapsed, Mr Muhyiddin stressed that he could no longer work with DAP and urged Mr Anwar to come along with him.

"No one can govern Malaysia effectively without support from the Malay base, " said Mr Khaw.

"Do you think Muhyiddin would have been able to say no Friday prayers or any gathering for terawih prayers during the movement control period if his government did not have the support of the Malays?"

That is the stark reality of Malaysia's politics.

Pakatan's eagerness for an extended Parliament sitting is not only to debate measures for economic recovery from the pandemic, but it also needs to let off pent-up anger over the way the coalition was pushed out of Putrajaya.

But its comeback journey should not only be to bang at the mistakes and shortcomings of Muhyiddin's government or to harp about being robbed of their rightful spot as the government.

Pakatan will also have to focus on how to win back the trust and respect of Malay voters. In that sense, Mr Anwar will have a big role to play in Pakatan's comeback.

The writer is a columnist with The Star. The Star is a member of The Straits Times media partner Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 news media entities.