The sources said Tengku Razaleigh, more commonly known as Ku Li, will be accompanied by several Umno MPs aligned with him.

They said that during the audience with Sultan Abdullah, the Umno MPs are expected to either declare their support for, or rejection of, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is seeking to be the new prime minister.

Tengku Razaleigh, 83, a former finance minister, is also the longest-serving MP in Malaysia and is seen as an influential and elder statesman respected by his peers.

Earlier today, Anwar, who claims to have the majority support of MPs to form a new government, had an audience with Sultan Abdullah.

The opposition leader left Istana Negara without speaking to the media, accompanied by shouts of “Reformasi” from supporters gathered near the palace gates.

Anwar had said on Sept 23 he would present to the King evidence of the “strong and convincing” support he had from the MPs. He did not reveal the number backing him, adding that he would only do so after his audience with Sultan Abdullah.

Several parties within the Perikatan Nasional government have denied that they are supporting Anwar although Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi admitted that many of the party’s MPs were backing him.