Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe may be retiring in exile in Malaysia under a potential power-sharing deal between the African country's ruling and opposition parties to stave off famine and economic collapse.

According to several South African press reports, ongoing negotiations between two top officials in Mugabe's Zanu PF party and Zimbabwean opposition party Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have included the "critical element" of Mugabe's resignation.

The Cape Town-based News24 said today that the British government the former colonial ruler which continues to take a strong interest in Zimbabwe's affairs had reached a tentative agreement with Malaysian authorities to grant Mugabe and his family political asylum.

In the report, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was quoted as saying that Mugabe is likely to "go outside the country (Zimbabwe)" as he could feel "insecure" after stepping down. However, it is not known when any such resignation would take effect.

The unprecedented negotiations between the Zimbabwean parties came about following "deep dismay" within the ruling party over the deterioration of country's economy as a result of several poorly planned economic policies over the past decade.

Aside from fuel shortages, triple-digit inflation and collapse of state infrastructure, the country is now poised to face a famine which could affect more than half of its 11 million population.