Najib Razak is one of the first ex Prime Ministers to comment on the new appointment made by the Malaysian King.

On Feb. 29, Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia's king, appointed Muhyiddin Yassim, the president of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia.

Muhyddin, 72, will be sworn in at 10:30am on Sunday (March 1) at the national palace.

Najib posted on Facebook, expressing his support for the King's decision.

'U-turn' Pakatan Harapan coalition

Najib fired the first salvo at the former ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, saying that it is an undeniable fact that PH likes to make U-turns.

He commented that it was not impossible if some of them "u-turned their support" after a few hours.

He added that "maybe most of them who made a U-turn will have reached a full O-turn".

He said: "This morning, there were 106 support. In the afternoon, there were 114. Tomorrow, there might only be 104."

Najib is likely to be referring to how interim Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has claimed majority support, issuing a list of 114 names of MPs who support him for the post of PM.

'U-turn' Pakatan Harapan coalition has two choices

Najib said that the King, together with Malaysia’s Conference of Rulers, have made a decision after discussing for one week.

He said that the PH coalition has two choices if they are not satisfied with the King's decision.

They can either:

i) challenge the King's decision in court if "they are brave enough" or

ii) Cast a vote of no confidence against Muhyiddin in Dewan Rakyat (the lower house of Malaysia's parliament).

Najib added that if Muhyiddin loses the vote of confidence in parliament, he may advise to break up the parliament and return the power to citizens.

He concluded,

"After the break up, we will meet at PRU15 (the 15th Malaysian general election). The nation will decide.

Your call."

Najib and Muhyiddin

During Najib's premiership, Muhyiddin was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education.

However, Muhyiddin was dismissed in 2015 from the Cabinet after he publicly criticised Najib’s handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.

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