Malaysia's government crisis.
King Abdullah on March 1 swore in Malaysian United Indigenous Party (PPBM) President Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister, believing Muhyiddin now commands a parliamentary majority. This followed a week of political turmoil that began when the PPBM’s Mahathir Mohamad resigned as premier. Mahathir’s move came after the PPBM and a breakaway faction of the People’s Justice Party (PKR) left the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, which had come to power nationally in 2018. Muhyiddin leads a new Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, which has wrested power in two states as well as nationally following the PH’s fragmentation.
The risk of widespread protests will grow while parliament’s next sitting is delayed.
If the PN government remains in place, at least in the medium term, its links to past corruption could impact Malaysia’s credit ratings.
The PN will halt transparency initiatives put in place by the PH since 2018 but probably not reverse them entirely.
