Malaysia’s King Appoints Muhyiddin Yassin as New Prime Minister

Mahathir quit as PM to object to his party’s plan to work with UMNO, a party plagued by corruption charges.

Malaysia’s King on Saturday, 29 February, appointed seasoned politician Muhyiddin Yassin as the new prime minister, trumping former PM Mahathir Mohamad’s bid to return to power.

(Photo: AP)

Malaysia's King on Saturday, 29 February, appointed seasoned politician Muhyiddin Yassin as the new prime minister, trumping former PM Mahathir Mohamad's bid to return to power after a week of political turmoil that followed his resignation as PM.

The appointment of Muhyiddin, who heads Mahathir's Bersatu party, will ironically bring back to power the United Malays National Organisation, which was ousted by Mahathir's ruling alliance in 2018 elections.

Mahathir quit this week to object to Bersatu’s plan to work with UMNO. Several UMNO leaders, including disgraced ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, are on trial on corruption charges.

Mahathir struck a new deal early on Saturday to work with his former ruling alliance led by rival Anwar Ibrahim to thwart Muhyiddin's plan but failed.

But the palace announced that King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah believed that Muhyiddin has the support of a majority of lawmakers, and that he would be sworn in on Sunday.