Anwar sworn in as Malaysia’s PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he plans to test lawmakers’ support for his leadership with a confidence vote on December 19, as he seeks to prove to a defiant rival that he commands a parliamentary majority.
The 75-year-old leader was earlier sworn in by King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, capping a tumultuous political career that veered from coming close to clinching the top job on more than one occasion to spending years in prison on sodomy charges.
The monarch intervened after no alliance secured a majority in a general election on Saturday in which Anwar’s coalition won the most seats.
Anwar’s reformist Pakatan Harapan will now lead after cobbling together a unity government with former ruling bloc Barisan Nasional, regional parties from Sarawak and a slew of independents and a youth-centric group.
Anwar told reporters in his first press conference as prime minister that he will table the
2023 budget during the December parliament session. He also announced a public holiday on Monday.
“Muhyiddin [Yassin] had thrown a challenge to test our strength, which he does not need to do so because I’m not a PM like him like who avoided it,” Anwar said in reference to his rival. “The first motion is from the government, which is a vote of confidence in me.”
It’s a defining achievement for Anwar, 75, the almost man of Malaysian politics who was seen as former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s successor back in the 1990s and set to replace him after the 2018 election, only for the plans to unravel both times.