COMMENT | In my column last Saturday, I argue that Sheraton 2.0 would not happen before the state elections because Perikatan Nasional would not want to waste their bullets in orchestrating by-elections before that.

However, if Umno is wiped out in Penang and Selangor in the state elections, then the panic caused by its existential threat may make one story plot of Sheraton Move 2.0 possible.

Umno leaders and grassroots may demand the government to outdo PN in being Muslim nationalist, and PN would gladly take the battlefield further to the right. 

PKR and DAP would have to fight back, the government would be seen as divided and chaotic, the markets would lose confidence, middle-ground voters would give up on politics, and PN can orchestrate and win the ensuing by-elections.

Here are three moves that Anwar can take to prevent – or more accurately, reduce the risk of – a Sheraton Move 2.0 plot.

First...