PARTI Keadilan Rakyat's national congress next weekend will be about celebrating the party's success stories.

PKR wants its 2,000-odd delegates to celebrate winning 31 seats in the March general election from just one before that.

The party also wants to celebrate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's return to active politics after winning the Permatang Pauh by-election and becoming opposition leader three months ago.

Another achievement that the party will celebrate is the successful "Friends of PKR" dinner in Sibu, an event the party considers a breakthrough in its quest for power at the federal level.

As Sarawak has 30 members of parliament and can be said to hold the key to the formation of a Pakatan Rakyat government, Anwar capitalised on the event, attended by some 3,000 people last Saturday, to reassure his supporters that crossover talks with Barisan Nasional MPs are still in progress.

No new deadline has been set on when he intends to oust the BN government, but it is clear that Anwar still hopes to be prime minister.

"When Sarawak changes its course," he said during the dinner at the Sibu Trade and Exhibition centre, "the Barisan Nasional government will collapse."

Party sources say Anwar will also use the congress to focus on the Sarawak state elections, which many expect to be called next year. The last state election was held in 2006.

Can Anwar convince the PKR faithful that he is prime minister-in-waiting? What can he tell the delegates to make them believe that he is on route to Putrajaya?

Datuk Seri Najib Razak is the prime minister-in-waiting, ha-ving won the Umno presidency uncontested, with the March transition of power from Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi well in place.

Anwar is, in reality, a prime ministerial aspirant. Party insiders say Anwar wishes to present Malaysians the choice of a new government under Pakatan Rakyat or a Najib administration he paints as corrupt.

Najib will, therefore, remain the target of Anwar's attacks as the latter sets about making the case that he would be a better prime minister.

A senior PKR leader said: "Najib may get a solid mandate from Umno to be prime minister, but I can certainly say that it will not be easy for him to get the premiership."

Anwar knew all along that his real political rival, the main obstacle to his plans of becoming PM, was Najib and not Abdullah.

He has consequently attacked Najib from the Ijok by-election last year, through the last general election, till the Permatang Pauh by-election last August.

The deputy prime minister was even accused of having had a hand in the murder of a Mongolian woman, and in Anwar being charged with having a perverse sexual relationship with a former aide.

Anwar once said: "I don't believe that Najib can garner support or credibility, or manage the economy and rid the country of corruption.

"We are talking about a corrupt and rotten system ... a mismanaged system under Abdullah, and I believe it is going to be worse under Najib."

But Najib's ascent in Umno has dealt the PKR leader a bigger blow than the failed Sept 16 takeover target, which dented Anwar's credibility.

The decision to bring forward the Umno transition of power from June to March was another setback to Anwar's plan to become prime minister.

Umno, in general, and the rather restive situation in Sabah have stabilised.

A PKR insider even said a couple of "prospective BN turncoats" decided to stay in Umno with Najib.

Anwar knows there is now less excitement about the prospect of him leading an alternative government, both within his party and among PKR's Pakatan allies.

Far from giving up hope, he is deliberating how to carry out his delayed plan to seize power, working day and night to get the parliamentary numbers needed to topple the BN government.

So far, he has only managed to grab non-parliamentarians who fell out of the BN ranks.

Regardless, his supporters plan to laud their boss's ach-ievements by parading those who have crossed over on stage at the congress, to be held at the Malawati indoor stadium in Shah Alam, capital of PKR's model state.

They will include the party's latest prize, Gabriel Adit Demong, one of the two independent state assemblymen in Sarawak, who officially joined PKR at the Sibu dinner.

Anwar is a charismatic leader who has always been able to keep his followers' hopes high.

At the congress, the Ketua Umum (general chief), as he is referred to by the party, is expected to explain why he is still not prime minister, despite this not being on the agenda, as party members are demanding an explanation.

He is not expected to tell all, though, to protect those on his crossover list and their intermediaries.

The faith of PKR's 300,000 members in Anwar has kept the party alive.

There have been major fallings-out in the party in the past, resulting in leaders leaving, factions emerging and jostling over party posts.

But PKR survived to gain a record number of seats in Parliament, due to what local and foreign political analysts say was the unifying factor of Anwar.

PKR loyalists think the party is special, in that its members are from diverse communities united in the pursuit of "justice, truth, equality and fundamental rights".

Other Malaysians see the party as struggling to reach the masses with its ideals, seeking to topple the government and fighting one man's political struggle.

The PKR congress will kick off with the Youth and Wanita meetings on Nov 28, with the main congress scheduled for two days later.