Malaysia’s Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah has given party leaders and heads of coalitions a one-day extension of the deadline to propose their prime minister candidate. They have until 2 pm on Tuesday to do so.

This comes after Saturday’s general election threw up the country’s first-ever hung Parliament.

The King’s decision follows a surprise morning meeting between Pakatan Harapan (PH) chief Anwar Ibrahim and his Barisan Nasional counterpart Zahid Hamidi, which has yet to produce Malaysia’s next government, with Mr Zahid saying his alliance’s supreme council has not decided who to back.

To form a government, a party has to have a minimum of 112 parliamentary seats. Mr Anwar’s PH has 82 seats while Perikatan Nasional – led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin – has 73 seats. Both are scrambling to get smaller parties to join with them to cross the 112-seat line.

Malaysia bureau chief Shannon Teoh weighs in on the 24-hour extension and what the parties might be able to achieve in this time.