Malaysia's king to meet political leaders as search for new PM begins

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah will meet with leaders of the country's political parties on Tuesday, media reported, amid a search for a new prime minister following the resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin a day earlier.

Muhyiddin resigned on Monday citing a lack of parliamentary support, but after meeting the king agreed to remain as caretaker premier until a new government can be formed.

The king has ruled out elections because of the pandemic, but said he would invoke his constitutional powers to appoint a prime minister he believes would be likely to command a majority.

Political party leaders had received an invitation to the national palace for a series of meetings expected to begin at 2 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), daily newspaper The Star and other media outlets reported.

A spokesperson from Pejuang, the party of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, confirmed in a text message the party was among those asked to join the meetings.

Mahathir's son, party president Mukhriz Mahathir, is expected to attend, the spokesperson said.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the country's biggest political party, did not confirm a meeting but said in a statement it would consider several candidates and called for a "war cabinet" focusing on post-pandemic recovery to be appointed.

"A stable government must quickly be formed for a reasonable period that will only be focused on winning the war against the COVID-19 pandemic and manage the question of the people's worsening welfare," UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.