Malaysian premier quits after 18 months

Muhyiddin cites lack of majority support; potential successors jockey for position

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned Monday after less than 18 months in power, apologizing for his shortcomings but blaming those “hungry for power.”

Muhyiddin conceded that he had lost majority support to govern, making him the country’s shortest-ruling leader.

“I have tendered my resignation as prime minister and also for the entire Cabinet … because I have lost the majority support of lower house members,” he said in a televised final message after meeting the king.

Muhyiddin’s departure plunges the country into a new crisis amid a worsening covid-19 outbreak. Political leaders have already begun to jostle for the top post.

The palace said the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, accepted Muhyiddin’s resignation and appointed him as caretaker prime minister until a successor is found, in line with the constitution.

Sultan Abdullah said a new election is not an option because many parts of the country are covid-19 red zones and health facilities are inadequate. He urged the nation to stay calm and expressed hope that the political turmoil that has disrupted the country’s administration will be swiftly resolved.

The king’s role is largely ceremonial in Malaysia, but he appoints the person he believes has majority support in Parliament as prime minister.

Muhyiddin’s resignation comes amid mounting public anger over what was widely perceived as his government’s poor handling of the pandemic. Malaysia has one of the world’s highest infection rates and deaths per capita, with daily cases breaching 20,000 this month despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June to tackle the crisis.

Muhyiddin’s government had a razor-thin majority and dodged leadership tests in Parliament from the start. It finally fell when 15 lawmakers from the United Malays National Organization, the biggest party in his alliance, pulled their support for his government.

Two of the party’s ministers also resigned from the Cabinet before Monday’s actions.

Muhyiddin had repeatedly insisted that he still had majority support and would prove it in Parliament next month. But in a U-turn on Friday, he sought opposition backing to shore up his government and promised to call general elections by next July.

The king will have a tough task picking a new leader because no coalition can currently claim a majority. A three-party alliance which is the biggest opposition bloc has nominated its leader, Anwar Ibrahim, as a candidate. But the bloc has less than 90 lawmakers, short of the 111 needed for a simple majority. That’s also less than the 100 lawmakers believed to have backed Muhyiddin.

Other contenders include Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri who is from United Malays National Organization, but it’s unclear if a deal can be struck and if the king will accept it.

Local media said another possible candidate is Razaleigh Hamzah, an 84-yearold prince who was a former finance minister. Razaleigh, an United Malays National Organization lawmaker, is seen as a neutral candidate who could unite the warring factions in the party.