Malaysia PM from scandal-hit party

Kuala Lumpur, Aug. 19: Malaysia’s longest-governing political party appeared set to reclaim the premiership it lost in a shock 2018 election defeat, with its lawmakers summoned to the palace Thursday to verify their candidate has enough support to take office.

The choice of former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob would essentially restore the ruling alliance of Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned as prime minister on Monday after infighting in the coalition cost him majority support.

Ismail’s appointment would also see the return of the United Malays National Organization, which ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 before it was ousted in 2018 over a multibilliondollar financial scandal.

Ismail, 61, an UMNO vice president, appeared to have majority support in Parliament. UMNO Secretary-General Ahmad Maslan said that 114 lawmakers from UMNO and other parties in the former governing alliance were summoned. He said they were asked to confirm their support for Ismail during a brief audience with the king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The 114 votes surpass the 111 needed for a simple majority but the new government may not be stable since this is similar to the backing Muhyiddin had before 15 UMNO lawmakers pulled their support for him, causing his government to collapse.

“With Ismail Sabri poised to become Malaysia’s next prime minister under the same alliance, many Malaysians will view it as nothing more than a game of musical chairs” with the baton passed from Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party to UMNO, said Ei Sun Oh, a senior fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

Muhyiddin departed after less than 18 months in office amid internal squabbling and 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, despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June. The country reported 22,928 new infections on Thursday, a record for a second straight day, bringing its total to nearly 1.5 million cases. Deaths have surged to above 13,000.

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