KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been granted an audience today with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, The Star reported.

Citing an unnamed source from Istana Negara, the daily reported that the meeting will be in Kuantan, Pahang instead of the national palace here.

"Yes, the prime minister's audience is set in Kuantan,” the source was quoted as saying.

Discussions are believed to centre on Ismail Sabri’s Cabinet lineup, which the new prime minister has promised to announce this week.

According to The Star, Ismail Sabri was supposed to present his proposal of ministers to Sultan Abdullah yesterday but the audience was postponed as the King is in the Pahang state capital.

The King had called for a new government that cut across party lines prior to Ismail’s appointment as prime minister on August 20, following the collapse of the previous Perikatan Nasional coalition government just 17 months after it wrested power from the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which lasted 22 months.

Ismail has been pressed to put together a Cabinet as quickly as possible as the country has been firefighting Covid-19 surges that exceeded 20,000 cases a day and which has exacted a heavy toll on the economy due to the rising death toll and prolonged lockdowns.

The Star also said the pressure is on Ismail Sabri to form a Cabinet before August 31 as the country has never marked Merdeka without a sitting government.