The sources asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

“Umno is negotiating and it shows they are not ready to exit the Perikatan Nasional coalition,” said one source.

Earlier today, FMT reported Umno supreme council member Annuar Musa as saying that party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had met Muhyiddin over Umno’s “new conditions” for supporting the PN-led government.

He did not provide details on the meeting but said discussions on Umno’s new conditions were ongoing.

Reuters quoted two sources as saying that Umno and PN are also discussing which constituencies they would contest at the next general election. The elections are not due until 2023, but some in the government have urged early elections to win a stronger mandate.

Muhyiddin’s office and Umno did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters said.

Umno leaders have recently protested against the party’s diminished role in Muhyiddin’s cabinet despite being the largest party in the coaliton. Umno supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said last week that an Umno MP should be appointed deputy prime minister.

However Umno Youth leader Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has called for a political ceasefire amid the resurgence in Covid-19 cases.