KUALA LUMPUR: Going by his timeline for the establishment of a new government, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim should now be prime minister and today's sitting of Parliament would probably be looking at a new budget.

However, Sept 16 -- Anwar's self-proclaimed date for the takeover of the administration --- passed uneventfully and he did not become prime minister.

He remains the opposition leader.

One thing that has changed in the Dewan Rakyat is the seating arrangement brought about by the Sabah Progressive Party's decision to leave the Barisan Nasional.

As the SAPP has not joined the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, its two MPs -- Datuk Eric Enchin Majimbun (Sepanggar) and Datuk Dr Chua Soon Bui (Tawau) have been classified as independents and will sit with Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the Independent MP for Pasir Mas.
"The speaker told me we are sitting with Ibrahim Ali. He told us we will be classified as independents. We will see tomorrow," Majimbun said.

Anwar has promised fireworks when he takes the floor to speak on the budget as opposition leader.

The budget was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Aug 29 after which the house was adjourned for the Hari Raya holidays.

Going by house convention, as leader of the opposition, Anwar will be the first speaker to debate the budget and is expected to dominate the floor for at least two days.

He is expected to blow holes in the budget and at the same time unveil the Pakatan Rakyat budget or what Malaysia could expect if the opposition is running the country.

Anwar will probably also try to challenge the government by calling for another no-confidence motion.

Since Sept 16, Anwar has maintained he has the number of MPs on his side to form a government -- and he repeated this last Saturday -- but he has stopped giving a date for the takeover.

For the backbenchers, particularly those contesting Umno party positions in the elections, the debate on the budget will give them an opportunity to score points with their constituents.

Once the business of the budget is concluded, the house will continue with the debate on the Home Ministry's touchy Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Identification Bill 2008, which is currently at the committee stage.

Also slated for debate are the Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2008, Private Higher Education Institutions (Amendment) Bill 2008 and National Service Training (Amendment) Bill 2008

However, given Abdullah's desire to see some of his reforms implemented before his departure from office, some of these bills are expected to make way for amendments to the law to set up the much talked about Judicial Appointments Commission and the Special Complaints Commission.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Nazri Aziz said the government was doing its best to give priority to these bills.

"We are trying to ensure the passage of these bills during the current sitting," he said.

The establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission is likely to require a constitutional amendment which requires a two-thirds majority of the house.

How the opposition will vote is anyone's guess.