Malaysia gets new prime minister backed by old regime
Malaysia’s king in a surprise move on February 29 appointed former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s the new prime minister, ending a six-day impasse after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down from the role.
Muhyiddin, although president of Mahathir’s Bersatu party, is known to be aligned with the Barisan Nasional coalition formerly led by ex-prime minister Najib Razak that lost power in 2018 after running the country for six decades and is now a strong opposition force.
Born in Johor, a state neighboring Singapore, Muhyiddin served six years as deputy prime minister under Najib. He was critical of Najib’s handling of the 1MDB state fund scandal in which billions of dollars disappeared and was dismissed from the post in 2015 before being expelled from the party. After, he joined Mahathir.
However, he now got back support from Najib’s party United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO, which gave him the numbers to form a government.
The king decreed that “it was the best decision for all”.
The announcement came hours after Mahathir struck a new deal to work with his former ruling alliance led by rival Anwar Ibrahim and threw his name into the fray again. But the palace announced that King Abdullah believed that Muhyiddin has the support of a majority of legislators.
“I only ask for all Malaysians to accept the decision announced by the national palace,” Muhyiddin told reporters.
Mahathir, 94, had led the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) coalition to a spectacular election win in 2018 but the government imploded on February 24 when he unexpectedly quit.
Muhyiddin had emerged on as the frontrunner after receiving more backing from legislators than Pakatan Harapan’s Anwar Ibrahim.
Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's new Prime Minister Malaysia's king in a surprise move on February 29 appointed former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s the new prime minister, ending a six-day impasse after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down from the role. Muhyiddin, although president of Mahathir’s Bersatu party, is known to be aligned with the Barisan Nasional coalition formerly led by ex-prime minister Najib Razak that lost power in 2018 after running the country for six decades and is now a strong opposition force. Born in Johor, a state neighboring Singapore, Muhyiddin served six years as deputy prime minister under Najib....
Malaysia’s king in a surprise move on February 29 appointed former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s the new prime minister, ending a six-day impasse after Mahathir Mohamad stepped down from the role.
Muhyiddin, although president of Mahathir’s Bersatu party, is known to be aligned with the Barisan Nasional coalition formerly led by ex-prime minister Najib Razak that lost power in 2018 after running the country for six decades and is now a strong opposition force.
Born in Johor, a state neighboring Singapore, Muhyiddin served six years as deputy prime minister under Najib. He was critical of Najib’s handling of the 1MDB state fund scandal in which billions of dollars disappeared and was dismissed from the post in 2015 before being expelled from the party. After, he joined Mahathir.
However, he now got back support from Najib’s party United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO, which gave him the numbers to form a government.
The king decreed that “it was the best decision for all”.
The announcement came hours after Mahathir struck a new deal to work with his former ruling alliance led by rival Anwar Ibrahim and threw his name into the fray again. But the palace announced that King Abdullah believed that Muhyiddin has the support of a majority of legislators.
“I only ask for all Malaysians to accept the decision announced by the national palace,” Muhyiddin told reporters.
Mahathir, 94, had led the Alliance of Hope (Pakatan Harapan) coalition to a spectacular election win in 2018 but the government imploded on February 24 when he unexpectedly quit.
Muhyiddin had emerged on as the frontrunner after receiving more backing from legislators than Pakatan Harapan’s Anwar Ibrahim.
