Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah held a meeting earlier this week, with speculation raging that it was over a move to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

A source close to the former premier confirmed that the meeting took place on Tuesday but no other details were available.

The meeting was also reported by the Asia Sentinel , claiming it was to form a unity government to remove Najib.

“There is a leadership crisis in Malaysia and the consensus is that only one candidate can end it. That is Ku Li (Tengku Razaleigh’s nickname), the only solution.

“The question is how to put together the mechanics of how it is to be done,” the publication quoted an unidentified friend of Razaleigh as saying.

The biggest hurdle for the pair, according to Asia Sentinel , would be forcing a vote of no-confidence in Parliament.

The two, it added, believe they would have unanimous support from the opposition, which holds 88 of the 222 parliamentary seats although some PAS votes would be questionable.

BN, on the other hand, has 134 seats, 88 of them under Umno control.

Mahathir-Razaleigh combo

The source told Asia Sentinel that Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia would be another obstacle.

“The Parliament is dysfunctional in that the speaker is not a democratic speaker. He controls Parliament on behalf of the ruling coalition instead of being a neutral speaker. 

“He won’t allow a vote of confidence on an incumbent prime minister who has lost the confidence of the people,” added the source, who was identified as a constitutional lawyer.

Mahathir, 90, and Tengku Razaleigh, 78, had once battled each other for the Umno presidency in 1987, leading the latter to form a splinter party called Semangat 46.

With Najib appearing hell-bent on riding through the 1MDB storm, and having thwarted an earlier attempt to push him out, a Mahathir-Tengku Razaleigh combination could be the next chapter in this protracted saga.