

Muhyiddin survived a delayed budget vote with a majority of just two. Muhyiddin’s support and legitimacy have been questioned ever since he came to power.Īs a result of a pandemic lockdown, it was not until July 2020 that parliament sat for the first time following the change in government. Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister after convincing the king he had a majority in parliament What went wrong?

Some politicians were also appointed to prominent roles in government-linked businesses. Muhyiddin’s cabinet included 70 people, the largest in Malaysian history, with four “senior ministers”. His Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition included his own Bersatu party – without founder Mahathir and his supporters – defectors from the previous administration’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat, as well as UMNO, Parti Islam Se Malaysia or PAS, the country’s Islamic party, and GPS, the ruling party in the Borneo state of Sarawak. He became prime minister in March 2020, after a week of political turmoil triggered by a power grab within the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition that led to the resignation of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad.įollowing days of uncertainty, Muhyiddin convinced the king he had sufficient support among members of parliament to form an administration. Muhyiddin, 74, is a veteran politician who began his career with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) before jumping ship amid the tumult of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal in 2015. On Sunday, Malaysia recorded 20,546 cases on Sunday, its fourth successive day of more than 20,000 cases. Some 12,510 people have died from the disease as overloaded government hospitals struggle to cope. Many Malaysians blame the government for spending too much time on politics and not enough time governing. The political upheaval comes amid rising public anger at the continued surge in coronavirus cases despite months of various levels of lockdown.
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Muhyiddin, who has defied calls for him to step down, held a series of meetings with his party on Sunday after admitting in a televised address last week that he no longer had a majority to rule.Īfterwards, Mohamad Redzuan Yusof, a minister in the prime minister’s department, told online newspaper Malaysiakini that Muhyiddin had told the party he planned to resign the following day. He is expected to inform the king of his decision after chairing his last cabinet meeting at 10am (02:00 GMT). Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to resign on Monday after a tumultuous 17 months in power marked by his government’s poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic and growing division within the ruling coalition, local media reports have said.
