Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Former Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has congratulated Anwar Ibrahim on becoming the country's new prime minister, Malaysiakini reported.
PN to stay in opposition
Muhyiddin, the chairperson of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, said on Friday, Nov. 25, the bloc will act as a check and balance in parliament.
They will do this by "bringing the voice of the people in line with the principles of parliamentary democracy", he said in a statement.
"Moving forward, PN will continue its crusade for the wellbeing of the people and the prosperity of the country guided by caring, clean and stable principles."
This marks an about-turn as Muhyiddin previously called for Anwar to provide evidence that he has majority support to be prime minister.
He had also earlier claimed that he was "confident" of getting enough backers to form the required majority to be appointed as prime minister by Malaysia's king.
While none of the coalitions won a majority outright, Anwar's Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition had managed to win the most number of seats (82) out of all the coalitions that stood for election.
PN, on the other hand, came close behind with 73 seats.
PM after a 24-year wait
After five days of political uncertainty, the Istana Negara, or Malaysia's palace, finally announced that Anwar would be the country's 10th prime minister, ending days negotiations between the coalitions and speculation from the public.
At his first press conference as PM on Nov. 24, Anwar said the Barisan Nasional coalition and Gabungan Parti Sarawak from East Malaysia will join his unity government.
He also said he would invite PN to be part of it as well, adding that "all are welcome" as long as they accept "the fundamental rules of good governance, no corruption and Malaysia for all Malaysians", New Straits Times reported.
Read more:
Top image via Getty Images