Anwar Ibrahim Emerges As Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister After Post-Election Crisis

Anwar Ibrahim Emerges As Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister After Post-Election Crisis

Neither Mr Anwar nor ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin had won the simple majority needed to form a government.

Malaysia's veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been appointed as the country's new prime minister, after several days of post-election deadlock.

Anwar Ibrahim who was sworn in as Malaysia’s 10th prime minister marked an incredible comeback. He was first lined up for the job in the 1990s before he was suddenly sacked and jailed.

Newsmen reports that the 75-year-old veteran politician took the oath of office in front of King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the palace in Kuala Lumpur shortly after 5 pm (09:00 GMT) on Thursday afternoon, hours after he had been named to the top job by the monarch.

Neither Mr Anwar nor ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin had won the simple majority needed to form a government.

Running on an anti-corruption platform, Anwar's Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition garnered the most seats, 82. However, that was short of the required 112-seat majority.

Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's rightist Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) grouping managed 73 seats. However, even with the backing of an Islamist party, Muhyiddin said his political bloc did not have enough seats.

The stalemate was resolved after the coalition led by Muhyiddin's Malaysian United Indigenous Party, also known as Bersatu, agreed to be part of a unity government under Anwar.

"After taking into consideration the views of their Royal Highnesses the Malay Rulers, His Majesty has given consent to appoint Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia," the royal statement said.

The coalition led by Anwar is a multi-ethnic one with a more progressive agenda than Muhyiddin's, which reflects more conservative ethnic Malay and Muslim views. Many rural Muslim Malays fear that greater pluralism under Anwar means they may lose their privileges.

Malaysia's long-ruling Barisan Nasional bloc, which dominated the country's politics since independence in 1957 won only 30 seats, representing that coalition's worst polling performance.

The 15th general election for the 222 parliamentary constituencies in Malaysia was held last week. No party or political alliance got a majority at the end of the election. This continued the problem of deciding the ruling party.

Following this, three major national parties tried to form alliances with smaller parties. With 112 seats needed to form the government, the media reported that the Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Haraban party is set to form the government with coalition parties. This information has been confirmed by King Abdullah of Malaysia.

In this regard, the announcement issued by the King of Malaysia states, “Accepting the views of the Malay rulers, the appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia is approved.”