Kuala Lumpur
A former interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s premier on Sunday, marking the return of a scandal-mired party to power after a reformist government’s collapse but ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 94, slammed the move as illegal.
The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into turmoil after Mahathir’s reformist “Pact of Hope” alliance, which stormed to a victory in 2018, collapsed amid bitter infighting.
Mahathir initially quit as premier but then sought to return. He lost out however to little-known Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads a coalition dominated by the country’s Muslim majority.
The king’s decision on Saturday to pick Muhyiddin as premier was greeted with shock as Mahathir’s allies claimed to have enough support, and sparked widespread anger that the democratically elected government had been ejected. Just before Muhyiddin’s inauguration, Mahathir accused him of betrayal and said he would seek a parliament vote challenging the new premier’s support — signalling the political crisis is far from over. –AFP
