Malaysia 9th prime
Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob,
Malaysia's king appoints 9th PM on Today.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20
(Reuters) - Malaysia's king appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister
on Friday, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin, who stepped down this week after losing
his parliamentary majority.
Ismail Sabri, who was
Muhyiddin's deputy takes over as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with a surge in COVID-19 infections and an economic slump, amid growing public anger
over the handling of the health crisis.
His appointment returns
the role of prime minister to the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO),
Malaysia's 'grand old party, which was voted out in a 2018 general election
amid widespread accusations of graft.
Ismail Sabri, 61,
secured a slim majority, with the backing of 114 of parliament's 222 members,
the palace said in a statement.
"The king hopes the
political crisis ends immediately and members of parliament can put aside their
political agenda. the people should not be burdened by an unending political
crisis at this time," the palace said”.
The king had earlier
said the new prime minister would have to face a confidence vote in parliament
to prove his majority soon after his appointment.
Ismail Sabri will be
Malaysia's third prime minister since the 2018 election, after UMNO pulled its
backing for Muhyiddin last month, citing his failure to manage the pandemic.
In Muhyiddin's
government, Ismail Sabri was among the ministers charged with framing
Malaysia's response to the pandemic and takes over at a time when coronavirus
infections and deaths per million rank as the region's highest.
Friday's 23,564 cases
represented a third straight day of record infections, taking the tally over
1.5 million.
A member of parliament
since 2004, Ismail Sabri served as a cabinet minister under two other prime
ministers before Muhyiddin and held portfolios such as rural and regional
development, agriculture, and domestic trade.
Malaysia has been in a
state of political flux since the defeat of UMNO, which had governed for more than
60 years since independence. Two coalitions have collapsed since then because
of infighting.
Public anger has grown
amid the politicking, as infections spread at a record pace, despite extended
lockdowns and ramped-up vaccinations.
Reporting by Rozanna Latiff, Mei Mei Chu, and Liz Lee;
Writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by nihar. Njtiptop.com