Two almost certainly contrasting receptions for former allies who recently turned adversaries at Penang’s Bayan Lepas airport tomorrow would trace the gulf if any in the state PKR, now rallying to batten down the hatches after defections from its stable of MPs.

One reception will be for Zahrain Mohd Hashim, the MP for Bayan Baru and former PKR state chief, who returns home to Gelugor after sojourning in Washington and London following his departure from the party a month ago, to become what he himself has described as a “non-BN friendly independent”.

The other reception is for PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim, who normally is motored into Penang rather than borne by air...