Ismail Yaakob is new the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Yaakob was appointed by the Malaysian King, making him the country’s third prime minister in just 18 months.
Bloomberg reported that the monarch on Friday selected Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the deputy leader of the previous government, as the new prime minister.
Yaakob, a longtime member of the United Malays National Organisation will be sworn in on Aug. 21, according to a statement from the palace, which said he commanded the support of 114 lawmakers in the 220-member body.
The appointment caps weeks of political upheaval, which prompted Muhyiddin Yassin and his entire cabinet to resign on Monday after 17 months in office amid mounting anger over his handling of the pandemic and the economy. Daily Covid-19 cases hit a record for a third day on Friday despite a seven-month state of emergency and multiple lockdowns.
“His Majesty expressed his views that with the appointment of the prime minister, the government should continue efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic immediately for the benefit and safety of the people and the country’s wellbeing, which are greatly affected by this crisis and the pandemic threat,” the palace said in a statement.
Yaakob, 61, marks UMNO’s comeback to the country’s top post after just three years on the periphery. UMNO ruled Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957 before it was ousted in 2018 in part due to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. The party was briefly relegated to the opposition, but returned to the ruling coalition last year under the Muhyiddin administration.
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