This undated file photo shows Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. (IAN TEH / BLOOMBERG)

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s royal palace postponed from Wednesday all meetings for two weeks because of new coronavirus curbs, a palace official said, likely putting off a decision on a bid by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to form a new government.

Anwar had on Tuesday met King Al-Sultan Abdullah to try to prove he had a “convincing” parliamentary majority to form a government, sparking a fresh bout of political wrangling just months after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took office.

The king was scheduled to meet leaders of main political parties to verify Anwar’s claim but a two-week partial lockdown took effect from Wednesday in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and neighbouring state of Selangor

The king was scheduled to meet leaders of main political parties to verify Anwar’s claim but a two-week partial lockdown took effect from Wednesday in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and neighbouring state of Selangor.

The palace will set new dates for the meetings with party leaders after the curbs were lifted, palace comptroller Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said. 

The postponement came after the biggest party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition said it was considering pulling out from Muhyiddin's administration.  

Muhyiddin has survived only on a two-seat majority in parliament since coming to power in March. United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the biggest party in his coalition, said it wanted to renegotiate the terms of its support for the ruling coalition, Perikatan Nasional.

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“UMNO is considering withdrawing support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) and will present new conditions to the PN government to continue with the political cooperation, in writing as soon as possible,” the party’s secretary general Ahmad Maslan said in statement late on Tuesday.

He did not say what new terms the UMNO party was seeking.

Party members had become increasingly unhappy about playing second fiddle to Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party despite being the biggest party in the coalition, UMNO sources have told Reuters.

UMNO was defeated in a 2018 election, its first loss since Malaysia emerged from British colonial rule over 60 years ago.

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But it returned to power in March by forming an alliance with Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party after the collapse of the Mahathir Mohamad-led coalition.

UMNO had said last month that some of the party lawmakers supported Anwar’s premiership bid.

King Al-Sultan Abdullah is set to decide the next steps in Malaysia’s power struggle, which comes as it grapples with an economy battered by the novel coronavirus and a new surge in infections.

The king will meet with party leaders to verify Anwar’s claim of support, Anwar has said.