The news that Mohd Fairus Khairuddin, the controversial former Penang deputy chief minister, has joined Umno brings to a close a saga in PKR that was emblematic of the problems faced by the party prior to and after the seismic general election of March 2008.

Desperately short of suitable candidates to stand in the election, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim had to settle on an unknown quantity in Fairus for the Penanti state seat in Penang, barely 48 hours before nomination day on Feb 20, 2008.