KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 — Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin tonight pledged his full support for his successor Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister this afternoon.
Muhyiddin indicated that he would continue to help the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government put the country back on the path to recovery.
It is unclear if the new government led by Ismail Sabri will remain as PN since Umno is now the leading party.
The country’s eighth prime minister issued the statement shortly after Ismail Sabri visited him at his residence in Bukit Damansara here.
“I would like to congratulate him for his appointment as prime minister,” Muhyiddin posted on Facebook.
“I give my full support to him and insya-Allah will continue to help the PN government serve the people, especially during the national recovery period.”
Ismail Sabri, one of Umno’s three vice-presidents, was sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister today, to lead Umno back into the driving seat of the country after his party helped engineer the fall of a government forged from a crisis just 18 months ago.
The former deputy minister was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the back of support from 114 MPs including from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, the splinter party whose rule was put to an abrupt end after some Umno MPs retracted their support for Muhyiddin.
The 61-year-old Bera MP was sworn in at a palace ceremony in front of the King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, where he pledged to fulfil his duties as prime minister.
