Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the meeting would be chaired by the King.

“The discussions will revolve around efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and its implementation during the Emergency,” he said in a statement today.

Two days ago, Singapore’s Straits Times quoted a source close to a royal family as saying the meeting was not a session of the Rulers’ Conference but “a special emergency meeting”.

According to the Singapore daily, it would discuss the worsening Covid-19 situation, the slow roll-out of the vaccination programme and calls for the state of Emergency to end and for Parliament to reconvene.

The statement from Istana Negara follows the audience the King granted several political leaders earlier today.

The King met with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim for one and a half hours, with discussions focused on the emergency and measures to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamed Sabu also had audiences with the King.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is expected to have an audience with the King tomorrow.