It's official -- in a stunning turn of events, Malaysia's next Prime Minister is neither Mahathir Mohamad nor Anwar Ibrahim, nor even Azmin Ali.

The eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia picked by the king is Muhyiddin Yassin, the president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

Bersatu is the party that until recently had perhaps been most associated by Singaporeans with former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The man from Pagoh, Johor

Muhyiddin, who turns 73 this year, has had quite the journey to the summit of Malaysian politics.

He is a Johor man who attended the local University of Malaya and worked at various state-owned companies. He then entered politics in 1978 as a Member of Parliament for Pagoh, in Johor.

As a member of the United Malay Nationals Organisation (UMNO), Muhyiddin was given a number of junior ministerial posts.

He then served at the state level in Johor, as the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) from 1986 to 1995. This was around the time that Mahathir was in his first term as Prime Minister.

Serving one Prime Minister after another

Muhyiddin returned to politics at the federal level and served in a number of Cabinet-level positions.

He managed to survive the transition from Mahathir to the next Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi, and again when the Prime Ministership passed to Najib Razak.

By this time, Muhyiddin had managed to become the Deputy President of UMNO. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Najib.

While in Najib's government as Education Minister, Muhyiddin ended the use of the English language to teach math and science. Muhyiddin said, according to The Guardian:

"I wouldn't say it's a complete failure but it has not achieved the desired objectives that it was supposed to achieve.

The government is convinced that science and maths need to be taught in a language that will be easily understood by students, which is Bahasa Malay in national schools, Mandarin in Chinese schools and Tamil in Tamil schools."

He also courted controversy in 2010, when after being challenged by Democratic Action Party (DAP) veteran Lim Kit Siang to call himself a "Malaysian first", described himself as a "Malay first."

Muhyiddin said, according to The Star Online: "How can I say I am a Malaysian first and a Malay second. All Malays will shun me and say it’s not proper as Indians will also say they are Indian first."

He also said that it's not wrong for any leader to "struggle for his own race", but added that he helped all communities.

Sacked by Najib over 1MDB comments

Muhyiddin's long career seemed over in 2015, when he was sacked by Najib from his post as Deputy Prime Minister.

His offence? Criticising his boss's handling of the scandal surrounding 1MDB, Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund.

He was quoted by The Malaysian Insider as saying: "I told him to let go of his post in 1MDB, but he didn't want to listen...I don't have any evil intention, my will is to help him."

His repeated criticism saw him also sacked from his party post by UMNO in June 2016.

Becoming one with Bersatu

Later that same year, Muhyiddin registered a new political party on the Malaysian scene.

Its name translates to the United Indigenous Party of Malaysia. As the name suggests, it is an explicitly Bumiputera-first policy, with Bumiputeras as full members and non-Bumiputeras only allowed associate membership.

Muhyiddin served as party president, with his old boss Mahathir as chairman.

Bersatu joined forces with Anwar Ibrahim of PKR, Lim Guan Eng of the DAP, and Mohamad "Mat" Sabu of Amanah to form the Pakatan Harapan coalition for the May 2018 general election.

They succeeded, and Muhyiddin helped to defeat one Prime Minister he had previously worked for, and return the other Prime Minister he previously worked for back to power.

Cancer treatment in Singapore

Muhyiddin was given an important portfolio within the Pakatan Harapan government, as Home Minister.

Shortly after the election victory, Muhyiddin visited Singapore for cancer treatment.

He was visited in hospital by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, then-Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Muhyiddin responded well to the treatment, and recovered in full to return to Malaysia and resumed his duties.

The pact splits apart

But all was not well within Pakatan Harapan.

The component parties bickered over many issues, from Mahathir accepted UMNO defectors into Bersatu's ranks, to losing a number of by-elections, to the tussle between Mahathir and Anwar over the timing of the transition of power.

Things came to a head-on Feb. 24, when Muhyiddin announced that Bersatu was leaving Pakatan Harapan, triggering the collapse of the government as the now-diminished coalition no longer held the majority in Parliament.

That set off the chain of events that saw Muhyiddin, after a career spent serving three different Prime Ministers in four different terms, finally assume power as Malaysia's Prime Minister himself.

Top image from Muhyiddin Yassin's Facebook page.