COMMENT | What are the options before Umno and Pakatan Harapan? The decision that must be made before Wednesday may have far-reaching implications beyond Perak. Here are the three options:

Option 1: Umno-Bersatu-PAS coalition

This would be the best outcome for PAS and Bersatu but the worst for Umno.

PAS and Bersatu can prove that their "Malay Unity" narrative is supreme. Umno will be the junior partner to the two other Malay parties, even when Umno has more seats than Bersatu and PAS, not only in Perak but also in Sabah.

The logic? When two Malay parties can work together but one Malay party decides to go its own way, then clearly Malay unity breaks down because of the latter.

Make no mistake, what is at stake is beyond who gets to be Menteri Besar (MB) and state executive councillors (excos) in Perak. The real battle is the allocation of parliamentary seats in the 15th general elections between the three Malay parties and the prime minister's (PM's) post after GE15.

It is simply the question: does the ally with the most seats get the top job?

Bersatu started this rule under Harapan to grab the top jobs despite having fewer seats, in Putrajaya, as well as in Perak and Johor. This was reversed in Johor after the Sheraton Move but Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin scored in Sabah after the state poll, installing a Bersatu Chief Minister despite Bersatu winning fewer seats (11) than Umno (14).

Muhyiddin’s talk of having a snap general election instead of going for a full-term (30 months left) is aiming to...