Malaysia's king appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the country's new prime minister on Friday, the palace said, making him the third leader in a span of three years as politics remain fragmented after a 2018 general election.
The king, Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin, confirmed that Ismail Sabri, 61, has secured backing from a majority of lower house members needed to form a new government, Comptroller of the Royal Household Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement.
Ismail Sabri replaces Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned Monday with his entire Cabinet, in which Ismail Sabri served as deputy premier and defense minister.
His swearing-in ceremony is slated to be held on Saturday at the National Palace.
Ismail Sabri's premiership marks the return of the country's longest-ruling United Malay National Organization to the top seat of power. The affable politician is the party's No. 3 figure.
The current instability resulted from the May 2018 election, in which a four-party opposition coalition, led by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, defeated the ruling National Front coalition, unseating then Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
UMNO, which had led the National Front coalition, was out of power for the first time since independence in 1957.
Mahathir, who replaced Najib as prime minister, did not last long. His government collapsed in less than 2 years due to infighting and political desertion led by Muhyiddin, who was his home minister.
Muhyiddin's faction joined forces with the then opposition UMNO, and he became prime minister in March 2020. But the union quickly unraveled.
With the coronavirus pandemic roiling the economy and case numbers continuing to rise, the Muhyiddin government came under criticism from both the ruling and opposition camps for its COVID-19 response.
The last straw came when 15 UMNO lawmakers withdrew their support for Muhyiddin, causing him to lose majority support in the House of Representatives. He tendered his resignation to the king on Monday.
The king, traditionally a symbolic figure as a constitutional monarch, stepped in as he did before appointing Muhyiddin as prime minister. He summoned 114 members of the 222-seat House of Representatives to the palace on Thursday to verify their support for Ismail Sabri.
The king then consulted with six hereditary rulers in a special meeting on Friday to affirm his decision.
Although largely unknown outside of Malaysia, Ismail Sabri is a four-term lawmaker who has held various ministerial positions since 2008 until the UMNO's defeat in the 2018 election.
The main challenge for the new prime minister will be "convincing an arguably skeptical public," said Keith Leong, the head of KRA Group, a public affairs consultancy.
Leong also said the parliamentary makeup of Ismail Sabri's administration will likely be more or less the same as his predecessor's.
With the UMNO now poised to lead the government, the new prime minister must work toward softening the rivalry between his party and Muhyiddin's Bersatu party, Leong said. "At the same time, he must ensure a similar detente takes place within the factions of UMNO."
