KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — The Yang di-Pertuan Agong will reportedly hold a meeting with the country’s other Malay Rulers on August 20 to discuss the nominations for the next prime minister.

Citing anonymous sources, The Star today reported that the meeting is scheduled to start at 2.30pm at the Istana Negara here on Friday.

According to the sources, the meeting is important as the King wants the appointment of Malaysia’s ninth prime minister to be conducted properly as there have been incidents in the past when several lawmakers were alleged to have hedged their bets on their choice of PM.

“There have been cases, in the past, where MPs were known to have more than one SD in their their declaration of support

“The result is that the public no longer has trust in these documents. So the palace wants to get this done properly,” one source was quoted as saying.

Yesterday, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun issued a notice to MPs, instructing them to submit in writing their individual choice for the ninth prime minister by 4pm today.

He reminded them to maintain confidentiality and that late entries would not be considered.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin submitted his resignation as prime minister on Monday, after months of pressure to do so following what has been seen as failure to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.

His resignation has caused a surge of horse trading and other political maneuvers by those seeking to form the government.

As of last night, the Barisan Nasional coalition decided to back Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for the PM position.

Among Opposition MPs, the contenders that have been named are Pakatan Harapan chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Parti Warisan Sabah president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.