Malaysia: facing political crisis, king appoints new prime minister

Published on : 08/20/2021 – 10:46 PM

Member of Malaysia’s strong party, the United Malaysian National Organization (Umno), Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed Prime Minister on Friday August 20, allowing this party involved in corruption cases to return to power.

The 61-year-old Malaysian political veteran has received the support of an absolute majority of parliamentarians and “in accordance with the Constitution” Sultan Abdullah Shah appointed him prime minister, the royal palace said in a statement.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is expected to be sworn in on Saturday, dampening the opposition’s hopes of returning to power. His predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin resigned on Monday after 17 hectic months at the head of the government after losing the absolute majority in Parliament against a background of resentment over his management of the Covid-19 epidemic.

The new leader comes from the ranks of Umno, which ruled Malaysia for six decades before losing elections in 2018 following massive corruption scandals.

A country in the throes of “political turbulence”

This formation had already been part of the last government in a coalition. But the coming to power of Ismail Sabri Yaakob signals that this powerful party, which defends the interests of the Malay majority in the country, is regaining power without a ballot. The elections are postponed due to the health situation.

The official appointment of the Prime Minister came during a reunion of Malaysian royal families. “The king hopes that with the appointment of the new prime minister, the political turmoil in the country will be over,” the palace noted in its statement.

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The monarch called on the deputies to “abandon their political ulterior motives to unite in order to fight the pandemic and allow the prosperity of the nation”.

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the third Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2018. His government is very similar to the previous one and his majority in Parliament is still very slim.

A petition accusing him of mismanaging the coronavirus crisis as minister of the previous government gathered 350,000 signatures.

Corruption cases and the acceleration of the pandemic

Despite a lockdown for several months, Malaysia has been unable to contain the spread of the virus and faces more than 20,000 new cases and several hundred deaths a day.

Observers have also expressed concern that Umno’s return to power may hamper ongoing corruption trials against several of its members.

Former head of government Najib Razak from the historic party, which lost the 2018 elections, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined in the 1MDB case, a multi-billion dollar fraud.

Malaysians’ anger over the looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sovereign wealth fund, which was supposed to contribute to Malaysia’s economic development, played a big part in this electoral defeat. Najib Razak remains at liberty pending an appeal trial and has retained his seat as a deputy.

With AFP