MALAYSIA’S KING NAMED ISMAIL SABRI YAAKOB AS THE COUNTRY’S NEW PM

Fri 20 August 2021:

Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah has appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the country’s new prime minister, according to a statement released by the palace on Friday.

Muhyiddin Yassin, Ismail’s predecessor, resigned on Monday after just over 17 months in power. Due to infighting within his ruling political coalition, Muhyiddin’s majority support in parliament had dwindled.

In three years, Ismail will be Malaysia’s third prime minister. According to the palace, he will be sworn in on Saturday after securing the approval of 114 members of parliament. That’s more than the simple majority requirement of 111 votes.

The appointment of Ismail, who served as Muhyiddin’s deputy prime minister, would effectively keep the ruling coalition together.

The United Malaysia National Organisation or UMNO — has reclaimed Malaysia’s premiership after a shocking loss in 2018.

UMNO was the most powerful party in a coalition that dominated Malaysia for more than 60 years, but it lost power in the 2018 general elections as a result of a financial scandal involving the state fund 1MDB.

The party returned to power in 2020 after the sudden resignation of then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, which allowed Muhyiddin to form the current ruling coalition.

Ismail’s appointment will not end the political uncertainty that Malaysia has faced since the 2018 elections, said analysts, due to his association with the Muhyiddin government — which was widely criticized for mishandling the country’s worsening Covid-19 outbreak.

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