What next after PN govt's collapse: The power players

The collapse of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government yesterday, 17 months after it upended the 22-month old Pakatan Harapan administration in a similar fashion, has set off another round of political negotiations in search of a new prime minister.

Outgoing Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who was responsible for pulling Bersatu out of the Harapan government along with Azmin Ali who took with him a group of PKR defectors in what was described as the "Sheraton Move", met the same fate when 15 Umno MPs withdrew their support for his government.

While Muhyiddin is now taking a backseat, the power players jostling to become the next government remain largely the same as those who spent hours in backroom negotiations during the week after the Sheraton Move in February 2020.

The situation now, like then, is highly fluid owing to the fragmented political situation where no one coalition has been able to muster a strong, formidable and convincing majority.

In the next days, egos will be tested, political futures weighed and concessions traded as the political parties attempt to strike deals to cobble together a new majority.

Here are the key players who will...