Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in as Malaysia’s prime minister on Sunday, an hour after his predecessor and former ally, Mahathir Mohamad, claimed he was the one with enough support to form a government and would prove it with a vote in Parliament.
“I am telling the public that I have the majority support,” Mahathir told journalists in a live-streamed news conference. “I have the 114.”
The 94-year-old veteran politician said he had proof of the support in the form of statutory declarations and letters, and called for an urgent sitting of Parliament.
Mahathir was flanked by politcians from the Pakatan Harapan coalition, which won power in May 2018, but has been dogged by political in-fighting that came to a head last weekend when a splinter group tried to form an alliance with the opposition.
The move led to Mahathir’s resignation and days of uncertainty that the king, a constitutional monarch, had sought to resolve by meeting each member of Parliament individually.
On Saturday, the palace announced that Muhyiddin, 72, had the confidence of Parliament and would be sworn in as prime minister on Sunday.
The announcement sparked anger among some Malaysians who felt their democratic rights as voters were being undermined.
Source: Al Jazeera News
