Speaking to FMT, the source who spoke on condition of strict anonymity, said that the Palace wrote to Azhar Azizan Harun on Aug 9 seeking an update on the number of MPs who supported Muhyiddin.

“The update was sought after more Umno MPs announced that they were withdrawing support for Muhyiddin,” the source told FMT.

According to reports, 15 MPs from Umno had withdrawn support for Muhyiddin and his administration either through public or statutory declarations, leaving the governing coalition with only about 100 MPs in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.

The source could not confirm if Azhar had responded to the letter and FMT’s efforts to reach the Speaker were unsuccessful.

However, earlier today, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said news portal Malaysiapost had run a story claiming that Azhar had indeed responded to the Palace, admitting that the government had lost its majority.

It claimed that, in his letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Azhar revealed that Muhyiddin only had the support of 100 MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, following the resignation of higher education minister Noraini Ahmad.

Asyraf challenged Azhar to deny the report that he sent the letter to the King.

Former prime minister Najib Razak has also questioned if Azhar has sent a letter to the King to inform him that Muhyiddin only has the support of 100 MPs.