Malaysian government officials confirmed Monday the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet. Officials said Muhyiddin had already submitted his resignation to the king.
Palace officials said Muhyiddin will remain as an interim "caretaker" prime minister until a replacement is appointed. The king reportedly decided against holding elections for a new prime minister, given the current pandemic situation. According to a Malay-language statement released by the palace, the king said an election is "not the best option" for now.
A day before the announcement, Malaysia's Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, said on social media that he and other cabinet members had already submitted their resignations to the king.
Muhyiddin's decision to step down as the country's prime minister comes after he had lost majority support in parliament. Malaysia has been struggling with internal political conflicts amid having its worst COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began.
In a televised address, Muhyiddin confirmed his resignation. He said he no longer wants to work with "kleptocrats." He said he no longer plans to interfere with the country's judiciary process and hopes that the new government can be formed soon.
Over the past few weeks, Muhyiddin had faced increasing pressure from his political opponents to step down. Malaysia's largest party in the ruling coalition, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), also recently withdrew its support for Muhyiddin.
Last week, Muhyiddin admitted for the first time that he no longer commanded majority support in parliament. Muhyiddin had been attempting to woo his political opponents with the promise of sweeping electoral and political reforms, including the reduction of the prime minister's tenure.
Muhyiddin came into power in March last year with a thin majority in parliament. He took over a government already divided after the sudden resignation of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad a month before. Muhyiddin came into power with a fragile collation as the country struggled to control the spread of COVID-19.
Despite his government's efforts, Malaysia continues to have one of the highest daily COVID-19 cases per million people in Southeast Asia. Even as he faced political pressures to resign, Muhyiddin had moved to accelerate the pace of vaccinations.
As of Monday, around a third of Malaysia's 32 million people have been fully vaccinated. Muhyiddin said Monday that he has already ordered an additional 87 million vaccine doses, which he hopes would be enough to inoculate the entire population by October.
