Kuala Lumpur, August 16 2021 Malaysian Prime Minister Muhiddin on the 16th at 15 pm local time issued a live speech announced his resignation. Supreme Head Abdullah Abdullah has appointed him prime minister of the caretaker government until a new government is formed.
Mr Mohiuddin, who succeeded Mr Mahathir as his eighth prime minister in March last year, has become Malaysia’s shortest-serving prime minister in history. The three-term government is also the first in the country’s history since the 2018 election.
Muhiddin met with the Supreme Head of State at noon that day to submit a letter of resignation. In a live speech on the same day, Mr Mohiuddin admitted that he had lost the support of a majority of MPs and had failed in his efforts to save the current government “at the last minute”.
Ma’s supreme head of state said in a statement issued by the National Palace on the same day that the current situation in Malaysia is not suitable for holding general elections, hoping that the political dispute can be resolved as soon as possible to safeguard the country’s governance.
The lower house of Malaysia’s parliament is more fragmented, with no single party holding more than a fifth of the seats, and no coalition of parties can now hold more than half of the seats alone. This means that without a new election, no matter what party the new prime minister comes from, it will have to go through a cross-party line to gain cross-party support. As of Mr Mohiuddin’s resignation, it is unclear who will succeed him in forming a new government.
Local observers generally believe that the Malay National Unity Authority (UMNO), which plays a key role in the political change, will actively seek the prime ministership, while Anwar, the former deputy prime minister, will once again fight as the strongest coalition of hope in the opposition, and does not rule out the possibility of a “black horse” coming out of the party compromise. There are also suggestions from Malaysian politicians that a coalition government should be formed to work with all parties until the outbreak stabilizes and general elections can be held. (Complete)
