Malaysia’s new PM says first priority is cost of living

Malaysia’s newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Friday his primary focus would be on the cost of living as he takes office with a slowing economy and a country deeply split after a close election.

Anwar, 75, was sworn in as premier on Thursday, capping a three-decade political journey from a protege of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad to protest leader, a prisoner convicted of sodomy and opposition figurehead. Anwar, who was appointed by Malaysia’s king on Thursday following an inconclusive election, said his primary concern was the economy and he would have a smaller Cabinet than those of previous administrations.

“My priority now is addressing the cost of living,” he told a news conference after reporting for duty at the prime minister’s office. Anwar had earlier indicated there would be two deputy prime ministers in his Cabinet — one from former ruling alliance Barisan and another from smaller political blocs in Malaysia Borneo.

Anwar said he would convene parliament on Dec. 19 for a vote of confidence to prove his majority in the lower house.

His appointment ended five days of unprecedented post-election crisis.

His rival, former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, had refused to concede, challenging Anwar to prove his majority in parliament. But on Friday, Muhyiddin said he accepted Anwar’s appointment and his bloc would play the role of the opposition.

The campaign for Saturday’s election pitted Anwar’s progressive, multi-ethnic coalition against

Muhyiddin’s mostly conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance. Anwar’s supporters expressed hope that his government would avert a return to historic tensions between the ethnic Malay, Muslim majority and ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

Anwar’s coalition, known as Pakatan Harapan, won the most seats in Saturday’s vote with 82, while Muhyiddin’s Perikatan Nasional bloc won 73. They needed 112 — a simple majority — to form a government.

The long-ruling Barisan bloc won only 30 seats — the worst electoral performance for a coalition that had dominated politics since independence in 1957.