Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak should be given another 48 hours until the next cabinet meeting to disclose his stand on the hudud bill.

According to Lim Kit Siang, should Najib still suffer from "labour pains" after that period and is unable to declare a clear stand that Umno/BN opposes the PAS theocratic goal, then a new political scenario has set in.

The prime minister met with 12 BN component party leaders last Thursday, following which, it was announced that he would reveal the stand soon.

Lim said the delay has led to MCA president Liow Tiong Lai having the "shivers", leading the latter to urge all to give Najib more time.

"What is clear is that Liow is no more the confident self six days ago when he gave 'exclusive leaks' to the media that Najib would announce Umno/BN’s stand last Friday.

"Six days have come and gone, and Najib continues to suffer from 'labour pains' without any sign that Najib would be opening his  'golden mouth' on this issue.

"Why has the confidence expressed by the MCA and Gerakan presidents and leaders suddenly evaporated in the past week?" he asked in a statement.

Lim said if Najib fails to announce that Umno/BN disagrees with the bill, this would be a tectonic shift in nation-building policies which the country's first three prime ministers had previously espoused without any equivocation.

"In fact, all the previous five prime ministers would have no hesitation to declare that hudud law is against the constitution and unsuitable for a multi-racial and multi-religious nation like Malaysia," he added.

As for the new political scenario if Najib decides to the contrary, Lim said both BN and Pakatan Rakyat would be severely damaged by Umno and PAS.

Reiterating his earlier suggestion for a new coalition government, he said the question is whether MPs from both sides of the political divide as well as both sides of the South China Sea are prepared to take a stand to "Save Malaysia" to defend constitutionalism by coming together in a new coalition – going beyond BN and Pakatan.

"If there are sufficient numbers in such a new coalition exceeding a simple majority of the 222-seat Parliament, then there would be a new government coalition and a new prime minister.

"Who will then be the prime minister? Clearly, Najib would not be the prime minister. The new PM can be from Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak or Sabah – can be a man or a woman," he added.