Malaysia: PM resigns amid political turmoil

Malaysian Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, resigned on August 16, 2021 following the months of political turmoil in the country.

Highlights

• He and his cabinet resigned after losing his majority.
• His resignation is going to open another chapter of instability as there is absence of any obvious successor currently.
• He resigned after the tenure of 17 months in office. Thus, it is the shortest stint of Malaysian leader.
• His resignation also impacts the efforts towards rebooting economy and controlling resurgence of Covid infections.
• Ringgit currency of Malaysia have fell down to one-year low and its stock market also slipped.

Caretaker PM

King of Southeast Asian nation have appointed Muhyiddin as the caretaker PM until a new PM is selected. No timeline has been set. As caretaker, he will have no cabinet. However, he will perform executive functions and advise the king until a new PM is appointed.

How PM will be appointed?

King Al-Sultan Abdullah has decided not to held elections because of the covid-19 pandemic. King would be invoking his constitutional power to appoint a prime minister who can command a majority.

Who is Muhyiddin Yassin?

Muhyiddin aged 74, is a veteran politician who started his career with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He then jumped the ship amid tumult of multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal in 2015. He was appointed as Prime Minister of Malaysia in March 2020 following a political turmoil.

Political Turmoil

Political turmoil in Malaysia was triggered by a power grab within the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. It led to the resignation of former PM Mahathir Mohamad.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2021