By Pizaro Gozali Idrus
JAKARTA (AA) - Malaysia’s king on Friday named Ismail Sabri Yakoob the nation’s new prime minister.
The swearing-in ceremony is set for Saturday at 2.30 p.m. (1630GMT), the palace wrote in a statement after King Al-Sultan Abdullah announced the appointment.
Ismail Sabri, who served as deputy premier under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who tendered his resignation on Monday, got the backing of 114 out of 220 lawmakers – three more than the minimum needed.
Muhyiddin resigned after 17 months in office amid mounting anger over his handling of the pandemic.
The appointment of Ismail Sabri marks the return of the United Malaysia National Organization (UMNO), which lost the 2018 general elections, over corruption allegations, particularly over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
* Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita