KUALA LUMPUR: The King has called for the 114 Members of Parliament who signed the statutory declaration to support Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister candidate to be present at the Istana Negara on Thursday to verify their stand.

       The lawmakers will meet the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in groups from 10am until 5pm.

       Royal sources said the MPs are from Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) from Sabah and independents who had backed the Umno vice-president to be PM.

       All the MPs submitted their statutory declaration by the 4pm deadline on Wednesday to Istana Negara.

       The 114 votes obtained by Ismail Sabri means that PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has failed to obtain enough support to be PM.