Deadline For Malaysian Coalition Talks Extended, Barisan Nasional Seen As Kingmaker

Malaysia's Yang di-Pertuan Agong has consented to extend the deadline for coalition talks by 24 hours to 2pm Tuesday after the weekend's general election resulted in a hung parliament. By the designated time, the leaders of major coalitions must submit the statutory declarations (SDs) of lawmakers who agreed to support their bid to form the next government.

• Perikatan Nasional announced that it has already submitted the SDs of more than 112 MPs who support the bloc's leader Muhyiddin Yassin's prime ministerial bid, proving his capacity to form a federal government backed by a simple majority in the lower house.
• The total number of seats won by Perikatan Nasional and two regional parties which openly declared their support for Muhyiddin is 101, while the position of caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri's Barisan Nasional remains unclear.
• PN's claim to power is contested by the opposition Pakatan Harapan alliance. PH leader Anwar Ibrahim met with Barisan Nasional's Zahid earlier on Monday and later said he was "optimistic" about the odds of himself forming the next administration.