Amid speculation that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah eyeing a run for the presidency of Umno, he has invited lawmakers from the party to attend a buka puasa event at his residence in Kuala Lumpur tonight.

Tengku Razaleigh is expected to gauge the level of support he has for his bid at the event ahead of the party election on June 30.

The eight-term Gua Musang MP, who announced that he was weighing up a possible bid on Saturday, is believed to have met with party delegates over the past week.

Currently, Umno has a total of 54 lawmakers in Parliament.

When contacted, Umno supreme council member and Padang Rengas MP Nazri Abdul Aziz confirmed that Tengku Razaleigh has invited party MPs for the buka puasa gathering.

"It's true, and I am attending," he said in a text message to Malaysiakini.

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However, another parliamentarian who spoke to Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity said Tengku Razaleigh holds a similar event every year.

“So, this is just another buka puasa event,” he said.

Tasek Gelugor MP Shabudin Yahaya, meanwhile, said he was in the dark about the invite and he would be attending another buka puasa event at his constituency.

In the 1987 Umno election, Tengku Razaleigh had mounted a challenge against then-president Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and lost by just 43 votes – which led to the formation of shortlived splinter party Semangat 46.

On May 9, it was the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan that delivered Umno and BN’s first ever polls defeat.

At present, Umno is being led by acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, following former premier Najib Abdul Razak's resignation on May 12.

Zahid has submitted his forms to contest for the party’s top post.