Political parties and their leaders are scrambling as they have less than 24 hours to present a firm coalition and their prime ministerial candidate before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
This was after Istana Negara, after receiving the official 15th General Election (GE15) results, said it clearly showed that no political parties commanded a simple majority to form the next federal government.
However, questions were raised over where Barisan Nasional stood in the tussle for political alliances as the deadline looms.
Perikatan Nasional chair-man Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced that he had the backing of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to become the country's 10th prime minister.
This, he said, came following his meeting yesterday with GPS chairman and Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg, as well as GRS chairman Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, who is also Sabah chief minister.
He said Abang Johari and Hajiji had said their respective members of parliament had agreed to back him as prime minister.
Muhyiddin said he has relayed the outcome of the meeting to the PN supreme council.
He added that several other members of parliament had also pledged their support to him.
Abang Johari, in an earlier statement, said GPS had decided to lend its support to PN to form the next federal government with BN and GRS.
However, BN, at press time, has remained silent over its participation in the coalition.
GPS and GRS had previously agreed to form the Borneo Bloc political pact to support the new federal government.
Despite its worst-ever showing in a general election, the Nov 19 polls have put BN into a "kingmaker" role and a key party in the formation of a coalition government for the 15th Parliament.
BN won only 30 of the total 220 parliamentary seats with the exception of Baram in Sarawak and Padang Serai in Kedah.
Rumours yesterday began swirling of Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN chairman, having extended an olive branch to PH on the formation of a coalition government, alongside political parties from Sabah and Sarawak.
PH, together with its GE15 partner, Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), won a total of 82 seats. If PH works with BN, it would have a combined 112 seats, constituting a simple majority to form the next federal government.
Speculations on a cooperation between these two opposing political coalitions intensified after BN democracy and law task force head, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, noted how the anti-hopping law was silent on parties that decide to move from one coalition to another.
Such a cooperation, if it took place, was expected to face resistance from the Umno grassroots, which had previously adopted a policy of "No Anwar, No DAP" (in reference to rejecting any cooperation with PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP).
If the Borneo Bloc decides to lend their support to PN, this coalition would still only have 101 seats, 11 shy of securing a simple majority.
The three, however, will have enough seats if they could get BN into the fold.