Malaysian King summons political leaders after PM resignation

Bangkok, Aug 17 (EFE).- Malaysian King Abdullah convened the main political leaders Tuesday after accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin the day before as a result of a long political crisis aggravated by the management of the pandemic.

The head of state, responsible for proposing a successor, will listen to the leaders of the main factions in Parliament at the National Palace to find out how many support each one of them has.

Among those summoned are Anwar Ibrahim, who heads the opposition platform Pakatan Harapan, and Zahid Hamidi, secretary general of the National Organization of the United Malays, who for decades ruled the country overshadowed by accusations of corruption against several of its members.

According to the cabal of political analysts, no prospective candidate has the backing of at least 111parliamemtarians, enough to achieve a simple majority in the House.

The Malaysian king accepted the resignation of the prime minister Monday but entrusted him with maintaining the post on an interim basis until appointing his possible successor and estimating that it is not the right time to hold early elections due to the current wave of Covid-19 in the country.

Muhyiddin came to power in March 2020, before the emergency against the pandemic was declared, after abruptly leaving the ruling coalition and seizing power after a series of intrigues in the Legislative.

In the 17 months that he led the government, the shortest in Malaysia’s history, he was criticized for his inability to manage the health crisis and soften the economic blow as the political division deepened.

Malaysia’s political crisis comes as the country faces its worst wave of Covid-19 during the entire pandemic, in which it has exceeded 21,500 daily cases and more than 350 deaths. EFE

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