Malaysia’s Prime Minister Resigns

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet have submitted their resignations to King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin. The prime minister cites a loss of confidence within his political party and the worsening COVID-19 crisis as the causes. Muhyiddin became the country’s eighth prime minister in March 2020. With his resignation, Muhyiddin now becomes the shortest-serving leader since the nation gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. Muhyiddin came into power as the pandemic began to take root, and Malaysia continues to struggle against the virus. Data shows 620.14 confirmed COVID cases per million people on Saturday. This makes Malaysia the country with the highest COVID cases in Asia and the sixth-highest globally for new cases. The king has asked Muhyiddin to continue serving as caretaker prime minister until a new government can be formed. At this point, it appears the monarch will also appoint the next prime minister.