PETALING JAYA, Jan 29 — Anticipating an unfavorable verdict next month in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Sodomy II case, PKR is preparing a nationwide roadshow for the opposition leader to meet his supporters before he faces the court.

At a press conference today, PKR’s Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul said this could very well be Anwar’s last few weeks of freedom before he is sent to prison.

“This could be Anwar’s last opportunity to meet the people of Malaysia,” the federal lawmaker said.

Johari invited all members of the public to attend the series of roadshows, which will begin on February 1 in Negeri Sembilan, and go through Kedah, Terengganu, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Johor, and Malacca, before concluding at a stadium in Shah Alam on February 9.

“The purpose of this roadshow is to urge Malaysians that change must happen,” Johari said, “and to show that the struggle must go on, because it concerns the future of all Malaysians.”

Johari also urged members of the public to go to the Federal Court at Putrajaya on February 10 to show support to Anwar.

“See him, talk to him, shake his hand,” he said.

“We expect that the crowd that will come will not just be party members, but people who think that if Anwar is sent to jail, we will lose our freedom,” he added.

Johari described the sodomy charge against Anwar as “a political ploy,” pointing out that the same thing had been done in the past.

“Same thing, same pattern, same charge,” he said.

Johari also said that PKR was ready to face the verdict of the court, “as we were ready 16 years ago when Anwar was sent to jail and beaten up, and no one thought we would survive.”

When asked by Malay Mail Online how the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition would hold together and move forward without Anwar, Johari said that Anwar’s wife Datuk Wan Azizah would lead the coalition, adding that that she commands broad support in PKR and within coalition.

“And she’s not alone — she has many able leaders around her, and many more to come,” he said.

Johari said, however, that there would be no rally after the Federal Court verdict is announced on February 10, no matter which way it goes.

Anwar, who is the Permatang Pauh MP, was charged with sodomy for the second time after Saiful, his former aide, complained of being sodomised by the politician at the Desa Damansara condominium in upscale Bukit Damansara on June 26, 2008.

The Federal Court said on Monday that it will deliver its ruling on Anwar’s case on February 10.

The High Court had in 2012 acquitted Anwar of allegedly sodomising his former political aide Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in an upscale Bukit Damansara condominium on June 26, 2008.

But the decision was later overturned by the Court of Appeal and the Opposition Leader was subsequently sentenced to a five-year jail term.

Last year, the Federal Court, after hearing Anwar’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s 2013 conviction and jail sentence, deferred its decision to an unspecified date.

The apex court’s decision next month could affect the fate and future of the federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat that Anwar now leads.

Anwar has repeatedly maintained his innocence, insisting that the charges were trumped up to kill his political career as he allegedly poses a threat to the Barisan Nasional coalition’s decades-long rule.

If Anwar fails to reverse the Court of Appeal’s five-year imprisonment sentence and conviction, the 67-year-old would lose his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat as the law bars anyone fined RM2,000 or imprisoned for one year from serving as a lawmaker.

In October last year, the PKR de facto leader said he was mentally prepared to accept any outcome from today’s Sodomy II appeal, but added that he has little hope for a positive verdict.

On January 18, Anwar said that he is not cowed by the possibility of being sent to jail, reaffirming that he has chosen to face the coming court ruling instead of seeking asylum overseas.