That de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim will win the upcoming Permatang Pauh by-election is not in question, even amongst Barisan Nasional leaders. The more interesting questions, politically speaking, are how large will Anwar's majority be and how significant is his eventual margin of victory.

There are reasons on both sides of the argument as to whether Anwar's margin of victory will be larger or smaller than the 13,400 majority obtained by his wife, Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, in the general elections in March.