Former Home Affairs Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was on Sunday sworn in as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia, following a week of political power struggles.
Muhyiddin was appointed following the abrupt February 24 resignation of the 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who had been in office since the general elections in 2018, Xinhua news agency reported.
Muhyiddin is wearing traditional Malay clothes, pledged to serve the country and the people before Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the National Palace.
The ceremony was attended by Muhyiddin’s political allies.
Muhyiddin, 72, had served as Deputy Prime minister under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from 2009 to 2015.
On Saturday, Mahathir said that he had a meeting with the PH coalition on in the early hours of the day and was now confident that he has the numbers needed to garner majority support in the Lower House of Parliament.
Mahathir, the world’s oldest head of government, presented his resignation earlier this week, later accepted by King Abdullah Pahang, on condition that he continue as Interim Prime Minister until a new government is formed.
Mahathir had ousted then-prime minister Najib Razak, who has been linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal involving a government fund. The power tussle between old rivals 94-year-old Mahathir and 72-year-old Anwar has shaped Malaysian politics for decades, despite their unusual alliance to win 2018 elections based on a promise that Mahathir would one day cede power to Anwar.
Mahathir was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and was part of the long-ruling party Barisan Nasional (BN). Anwar was his deputy but the relationship soured when Anwar was sacked in 1998 after a leadership dispute.
The history seems to be repeating itself after the recent events which still leaves the question of who will be the next prime minister or if new elections will be called.
(With inputs from agency)