Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointed Malaysia’s new PM
Malaysia’s king has picked as the new prime minister the deputy of Muhyiddin Yassin, who stepped down this week after losing his parliamentary majority.
The 9th Malaysian Prime Ministerial candidate, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (R) seen along with other UMNO MPs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 19, 2021.
Veteran politician Ismail Sabri Yakoob was named Malaysia's new prime minister after the previous government collapsed, the national palace said, with a scandal-plagued party reclaiming the leadership that it lost at elections in 2018.
Former deputy prime minister, Ismail Sabri received the backing of a majority of lawmakers, and "in accordance with the constitution", the king appointed him as the prime minister, the palace said in a statement.
Malaysia's new prime minister will have to draw on his experience of more than a decade in governance as he takes the reins of a country beset by political turmoil, raging Covid-19 infections and a pandemic-battered economy.
The 61-year-old was appointed by the Southeast Asian nation's constitutional monarch on Friday to succeed Muhyiddin Yassin.
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What happened
Ismail was the deputy prime minister under the government of Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned Monday after less than 18 months in office as infighting in his coalition cost him majority support.
Ismail's appointment essentially restores Muhyiddin’s alliance. It also brings back the rule of the United Malays National Organization, which had led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 but was ousted in 2018 elections over a multibillion-dollar financial scandal.
King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said Ismail had secured the backing of 114 lawmakers for a slender majority. He said Ismail, 61, will be sworn in as Malaysia's ninth prime minister on Saturday.
The king's role is largely ceremonial in Malaysia, but he appoints the person he believes has majority support in parliament as prime minister and the state rulers can advise him on such appointments.
Malaysia has one of the world's highest infection rates and deaths per capita, despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June.
Daily new infections have more than doubled since June to hit a record 22,928 on Thursday, bringing the country's total to nearly 1.5 million cases.
Deaths have surged to above 13,000.
READ MORE: Scandal-plagued Malaysia party set to reclaim power after PM resignation
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