After The Meeting Of Nine Sultans Today, The King Of Malaysia Will Announce The New Prime Minister?

Raja of Malaysia Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. (islamtimes.org)

JAKARTA - Malaysia's King Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is expected to announce the appointment of the country's new prime minister after a meeting with the kingdom's other rulers on Friday.

The conference of nobles, consisting of nine sultans of Southeast Asian countries, including the king, will meet at 2:30 p.m. local time (0630 GMT).

Ismail Sabri Yaakob is poised to replace Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, having resigned last Monday, admitting he has lost the support of his alliance of supporters in parliament.

Muhyiddin's resignation ended a troubled 17-month tenure in which he was routinely plagued by infighting within the ruling alliance while battling rising COVID-19 infections and a weakening economy.

If confirmed, Ismail Sabri's appointment would mark the return of his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), to the post of prime minister, three years after losing an election on corruption charges, largely linked to the state's multi-billion-dollar scandal. funded 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Malaysia's king was tasked with appointing a new prime minister by determining the member of parliament most likely to gain the support of a majority of MPs, after the election was sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ismail Sabri, who is Muhyiddin's deputy from rival party UMNO, emerged as the top candidate after gaining support from Muhyiddin's coalition.

"The 61-year-old man has the support of 114 MPs from the 222-seat parliament", UMNO MP Ahmad Maslan told reporters on Thursday, quoted by Reuters, August 20.

Muhyiddin, who now serves as interim prime minister, said his alliance's support was dependent on Ismail Sabri to ensure the new cabinet members were free of corruption charges.

Several UMNO MPs were charged with corruption following the 2018 election defeat, including party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak, who faces dozens of charges related to 1MDB. They both denied wrongdoing.

The United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has announced that it will nominate Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its prime ministerial candidate, following a meeting of the highest council on Tuesday evening.

The decision was backed by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), according to local media. PAS vice president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man confirmed that all 18 federal lawmakers will support Ismail Sabri as prime minister.

Bersatu supreme council member Eddin Syazlee Shith was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying all 35 party lawmakers had been instructed by Muhyiddin Yassin, the party president, to support Ismail Sabri.