KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 (NNN-Bernama) — Muhyiddin Yassin today resigned as the Malaysian prime minister, saying he no longer commanded majority support in Parliament.
His departure from the post, along with the resignation of his entire 29-member cabinet, comes 17 months after the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition that he led came to power.
“It is obvious that I have lost majority support. So, there is no longer a need to ascertain my legitimacy as the prime minister in Parliament.
“So today, I have tendered my resignation as the prime minister and also the resignation of my entire Cabinet as required by the Federal Constitution,” he said in a special announcement aired live on television.
Muhyiddin tendered his resignation letter to the Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah during an audience at Istana Negara (the National Palace) earlier today.
However, Al-Sultan Abdullah decreed that Muhyiddin be the caretaker prime minister until his successor is appointed.
The King said that based on feedback from the Election Commission, holding a general election is not feasible at the moment as the country is still battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Muhyiddin, who is president of the Bersatu party, was sworn in as the country’s eighth prime minister on March 1 last year following the resignation of then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Feb 24 that ended the rule of another coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH).
However, things came to a head for Muhyiddin’s fragile coalition recently after UMNO, one of the key partners of PN, withdrew its support for him and PN, leaving the coalition without a clear majority.
Meanwhile, in a special address after tendering his resignation Muhyiddin expressed hope that a new government could be formed as soon as possible so that there will be no disruptions to the country’s administration.
He said the next two months will be extremely important as Malaysia is expected to achieve herd immunity in October.
“There should be no distruptions to all plans outlined in the National Recovery Plan (PPN). The economic sectors need to reopen to ensure the country’s economy recover as soon as possible and the people can generate income to support themselves and their families,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the momentum of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination programme too should continue, adding that Malaysia’s record of having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world must continue.
“To all my fellow Malaysians, you don’t have to worry. My cabinet has ordered more than enough vaccines for all of you. If the vaccination programme goes well, all of you will get vaccinated by end of October.
“I hope the new government which takes over the administration of this country will take good care of all of you because it is the only thing that I care about. I care for you always,” he said.
Muhyiddin is optimistic that Malaysia would come out of the COVID-19 crisis very soon.
— NNN-BERNAMA