Caretaker Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced today that his political coalition Perikatan Nasional, or PN, has joined UMNO to nominate Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the next leader.聽
The 74-year-old, who this week became Malaysia鈥檚 shortest-serving prime minister, said that Ismail would be a good choice to lead the 鈥渘ew Perikatan Nasional government鈥 on condition that those facing court charges not be appointed as cabinet ministers. Muhyiddin鈥檚 comes a day after the UMNO political party also picked Ismail as their option for prime minister.
鈥淚n line with PN鈥檚 principles of defending a government with integrity, I wish to emphasize that PN鈥檚 support for Ismail, who is also Umno vice-president, is conditional,鈥 the statement said, adding: 鈥淭he new government under his leadership must also continue the practice of respecting the principle of separation of powers, protecting the independence of the judiciary and upholding the concept of constitutional monarchy.鈥
Fifty members from his coalition and four independent Members of Parliament backed Muhyiddin鈥檚 conditional support for Ismail. Leaders from the Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Parti Bersatu Sabah were also approached to make the same decision, Muhyiddin said.聽
A total of 114 MPs met with the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, today to confirm their support for Ismail as the next prime minister. UMNO鈥檚 Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was not on the list.聽
There are 222 seats in the Malaysian Parliament, but two seats have been left vacant. With 114 MPs supporting Ismail, a simple majority has been achieved.
But not everyone鈥檚 in favor of Ismail. More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition rejecting Ismail as Malaysia鈥檚 ninth prime minister for 鈥渕ishandling the COVID-19 pandemic.鈥澛
The petition, which was started by someone named Kyle Mohd, accused Ismail of issuing numerous statements deemed to be inappropriate, such as his call for a boycott of Chinese businesses in 2015.聽
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