A source in the know said the pullout was on the agenda at the meeting of the Umno top leadership.

However, the main issue to be addressed is the party’s elections which are due to be held this year.

There have been calls from party leaders, most notably former Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, for the polls to be held before the next general election.

The source said the Supreme Council would discuss the merits of having the elections this year or otherwise. “If the Covid-19 situation does not improve, the elections could be held by next December (2022) at the latest.”

The source did not rule out discussions on the withdrawal of support for PN before the state of emergency ends in August.

He said this was important as there were calls for Umno to quit the government quickly instead of continuing with a marriage that’s already on the rocks.

Last month, the Umno general assembly resolved to end its cooperation with PN lynchpin Bersatu for the next general election (GE15).

Delegates at the assembly also gave the supreme council a mandate to decide when the party would withdraw support for the PN government, particularly if there was no indication of when GE15 would be held.

Some Umno leaders like Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz have urged the party’s ministers to quit the Cabinet following the AGM, although Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said the ministers would remain in the government for now.