KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Uncertainty remains in Malaysia as the waiting continues for the next move from Tun Dr Mahathir who was appointed as interim Prime Minister by the King, Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah after the latter accepted Mahathir’s resignation on Monday.
Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali in a statement said:
“His Majesty has consented to the appointment of YAB Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad as interim Prime Minister while waiting for the appointment of a new Prime Minister in accordance with Article 43 (2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.”
In the three-paragraph statement, Mohd Zuki said, during the interim period, Dr Mahathir will manage the country’s administration until the new Prime Minister is appointed and a new Cabinet is formed.
In a separated statement, Mohd Zuki said His Majesty, on the advice of Dr Mahathir, had also revoked the appointments of all ministers effective today.
“This is in accordance with Article 43(5) of the Federal Constitution and in line with the resignation of the prime minister on Feb 24, 2020.
“Therefore, duties of all members of the administration (comprising the deputy prime minister, ministers, deputy ministers and also their political secretaries) have ceased on the same date,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced in a statement that Dr Mahathir had submitted his letter of resignation as the prime minister to the King at 1 pm today.
Dr Mahathir had also submitted his letter of resignation as the chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to the party headquarters. Bersatu has also pulled out of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
Dr Mahathir was sworn in as the country’s seventh prime minister on May 10, 2018, after leading the coalition in removing what he called a kleptocratic government.
— NNN-BERNAMA