Muhyiddin Yassin sworn in as Malaysia's new Prime Minister

Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], Mar 1 (Xinhua/ANI): Malaysia's former deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday took the oath of office as the country's eighth premier.
Muhyiddin was appointed following the abrupt resignation of 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, who had been in office since the general elections of 2018.

TV live-broadcast showed Muhyiddin, wearing traditional Malay clothes, pledging to serve the country and the people well 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 premier Najib Razak from 2009 to 2015. He later co-founded Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) with Mahathir and served as its President, joining the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to win the general election in 2018.

In a statement on Saturday, the national palace said that Sultan Abdullah felt Muhyiddin might command a majority in the lower house of parliament, hence agreeing to appoint him as the Prime Minister in accordance with the constitution.

According to Malaysia's constitution, the King appoints a Prime Minister who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the house. The constitution also stipulates that if the Prime Minister ceases to command the majority, he shall tender the resignation of the cabinet unless at his request the King dissolves the parliament. (Xinhua/ANI)