Last week's release of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim brought to a close one of the darkest chapters in Malaysia's political history. Coming exactly six years after he was purged from government, the three-man Federal Court bench ruled 2-1 that his incarceration for sodomy was unjustified.

News of Anwar's release spread like wildfire, quickly becoming the talk of the town. Malaysiakini 's website was jammed with thousands of hits per minute, as people rushed to the Internet to confirm the unexpected decision.

For those who have waited for his release and his eventual return to politics, they will have to wait a little longer. Anwar is going to Germany for medical treatment for his spinal condition as soon as travel arrangements are made. His time away will allow him to adjust to the changes over the last six years.

Locally, Anwar will have to come to terms with Malaysia under new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The international landscape has changed just as dramatically, with United States waging its war on terrorism, underscored by the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive warfare.

Bedridden, Anwar will also for the first time access the world through the internet, including his first glimpse of malaysiakini .

Next move

For now, all eyes will be on today's Federal Court judicial review on Anwar's appeal against his corruption conviction.

Should the court rule in his favour, Anwar will be free to re-enter politics immediately. However, if the Federal Court denies his application, he will have no choice but to serve a five-year ban from public office. This ends on April 14, 2008, just under a year before the next general elections are due, which is March 2009.

Regardless of today's decision, there is little doubt that Anwar, at a ripe age of 57, is still relevant. After all, every newspaper - having ignored his plight all these years - devoted their leading pages to his release, an indication of the impact he is expected to bring to the political landscape.

The Star went as far as publishing a complimentary 'breaking news edition', a tacit acknowledgment of Anwar's leadership potential as well as implicitly extending a warm 'welcome back' from its owners, the new MCA leadership.

The question really is what will be his next move. Will he take leadership of PKR, the flag bearer of his struggle for justice? Or, will there be a political compromise, leading to his return to Umno.

Anwar has been quoted as saying "the question of rejoining Umno does not arise".

Nevertheless, this is the same Anwar, who during his up-and-coming politician-cum-student activist days, when asked whether he would join Umno, declared that "one cannot clean the septic tank from the inside", only to be lured into Umno by none other than Dr Mahathir Mohammad.

Being a pragmatist that he is, Anwar's decision will likely be based on his political analysis of the best route to the premiership. But before he can fulfil his ambitions, the task at hand would be to rebuild his political base. Here he can count on three groups.

Gathering support

Firstly, the Anwar loyalists - his most trusted lieutenants who were with him in Umno and who championed his cause in Keadilan. Among others this would include Khalid Jaafar, Hulu Klang state assemblyman Azmin Ali and PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohd Nor. They are likely to stick by Anwar through thick and thin.

Secondly, the other key leaders of PKR, including those who joined during the reformasi era, and via Keadilan's merger with Parti Rakyat Malaysia. This group had die-hard democrats and would support Anwar as long as he is true to the campaign for justice and democracy.

Any suggestion that this cause is best fought from the inside, would bring a stiff rebuke from the 'reformasi camp' and suggestions that Anwar should not forget history.

Anwar's following within Umno will encourage him to return to the fold. Anwar will be reminded of the painful experience of Semangat 46, while assuring him that his ascendancy within the party is guaranteed.

Over the next few months, Anwar will likely keep his cards close to his chest, while he assesses the relative strength of these camps.

While Umno provides immediate access to benefits of incumbency publicity, power and wealth, it is also a party driven largely by corruption and patronage.

To ascend, he will have to take on both Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak, who are both unlikely to be easily persuaded to part with power. If he returns to Umno, he risks being another Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the heir who never quite inherited the throne.

If he chooses to stay in the opposition, he will have one, or at best two, elections, in the bid to win government. The target would be for PKR and PAS to win more seats than Umno, denying it its claim to represent the Malay ground. The path would then be open for a realignment of parties.

But to win as many as 50 parliamentary seats, Anwar will have to appeal not only to Malay voters but to all ethnic groups.

He will have to win over sceptics, and consolidate factions within his party. He will have to offer a vision that all Malaysians can share, a vision of a democratic and just nation, free of corruption and globally competitive.

PREMESH CHANDRAN is malaysiakini 's chief executive officer.