By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, March 1: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has been sworn in as the eighth prime minister of Malaysia.
He took the oath before the King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at Istana Negara at 10:36am this morning.
Muhyiddin and a number of MPs aligned with him arrived at the palace this morning at 10am.
Before that, several political leaders and MPs who supported him gathered at his house before departing for the palace.
They include United Malays National Organisation (Umno) president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Gombak MP and former Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali, Alor Gajah MP Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, Pas secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, Bera MP and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, and Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Muhyiddin is president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and the MP for Pagoh.
He replaces Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the interim prime minister, the latest major development in the current political turmoil roiling the nation which began a week ago, when Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister after it is believed that certain political leaders in Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Umno and Pas conspired to form a back-door government.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin is believed to have the support from the majority of MPs to become prime minister after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong decided to appoint him as the eighth prime minister yesterday.
Istana Negara in a statement yesterday said Muhyiddin’s appointment is in accordance with Article 40 (2) (a) and Article 43(2) (a) of the Federal Constitution.
Meanwhile, earlier, Langkawi MP Dr Mahathir disclosed that Pakatan Harapan leaders will not attend the swearing-in ceremony and pointed out that the King does not want to meet him. — DayakDaily
