KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak today denied speaking to a news portal, which quoted him purportedly admitting to signing a Statutory Declaration (SD) backing a new coalition led by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Saya tak pernah cakap dengan “The Malaya Post” pun. Kenapa tiba-tiba petik nama saya? (I have never spoken to The Malaya Post. Why pick my name all of a sudden?),” Najib posted on his Facebook page today.

The report yesterday claimed that Najib was among federal lawmakers who made statutory declarations supporting Dr Mahathir, to head up a new coalition government with the Opposition.

The Pekan MP reportedly told news portal The Malaya Post about the SD, amid mounting speculation over Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) future as the ruling coalition.

“Yes I’ve signed it (the SD), but conditionally,” he was quoted as saying.

His admission supports previous speculation that a group of federal lawmakers aligned to Dr Mahathir has signed similar declarations in a bid to have him stay on as PM and prevent PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from succeeding him.

At noon today, Anwar is scheduled for an audience with the Yang diPertuan Agong, who already met yesterday with the leaders of six political parties that are believed will form this new and still-unnamed coalition.

Anwar’s political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, told Malay Mail last night that the meeting had been scheduled prior to yesterday’s developments and was meant to update the Agong on political developments.

However, the PKR president will likely be forced to address events yesterday that he categorised as a “betrayal”.

While Anwar described the betrayal as complete last night, it is still unclear if the parties in the purported plot have the numbers to replace PH.

News portal Malaysiakini had earlier reported that Anwar would be meeting Dr Mahathir at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Putrajaya today, at 9.30am, quoting an anonymous PKR leader.