Sharjah 24 – BNA: Former defence minister and deputy premier Ismail Sabri Yaakob was on Friday named Malaysia's ninth prime minister, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin who quit at the start of the week, said dpa international.
Ismail Sabri will be sworn in on Saturday afternoon, according to Malaysia's Royal Palace.
The change of leader was announced shortly after Malaysia's Health Ministry reported more than 23,000 coronavirus cases in a day for the first time, taking the cumulative caseload to over 1.5 million. This is the third consecutive day a new record has been set and.
The ministry also reported 233 deaths on Friday, taking the total to 13,713.
With parliament not due to sit until next month, King Abdullah this week sought nominations for the premiership from the country's 220 lawmakers and held meetings with party leaders about who could form a government.
Ismail Sabri, a vice president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), is backed by 114 lawmakers, including predecessor Muhyiddin's small Bersatu faction, giving him a narrow majority over Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition coalition and the other main candidate.
The monarch said on Friday he hoped Ismail Sabri's appointment would put an end to political instability in the country.
Ismail Sabri is the third head of government in 3 years. His ascent marks a return to power for the UMNO, the dominant faction in the coalition that ran Malaysia from independence until a shock election loss in 2018 caused in part by corruption allegations against then-premier and party leader Najib Razak.
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