- Malaysia's embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said he will put himself through a vote of confidence when parliament reconvenes in September.
- The prime minister has in the past week faced increasing pressure — including from his allies — to step down.
- Muhyiddin, who came to power in March last year, has governed with a razor-thin majority in the 222-seat parliament.
Malaysia's embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Wednesday he will put himself through a vote of confidence when parliament reconvenes in September to prove the legitimacy of his leadership and government.
The Malaysian parliament has never voted on a confidence motion on a prime minister.
Muhyiddin, who came to power in March last year, has governed with a razor-thin majority in the 222-seat parliament. Since becoming prime minister, Muhyiddin has sought to avoid parliamentary votes that his political opponents could use as a proxy to a no-confidence vote against his leadership.
The prime minister has in the past week faced increasing pressure — including from his allies — to step down. That came after the Malaysian king issued a rare public rebuke of the government's move to revoke emergency laws without the palace's approval, as required by the constitution.
Malaysia's king is a constitutional monarch and is revered by the country's multi-ethnic population.
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In a televised address on Wednesday, Muhyiddin said he was informed by the king that eight members of parliament have withdrawn their support for the government.
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But Muhyiddin claimed he still commanded majority support in parliament, and proposed to prove his legitimacy as the country's leader through a vote of confidence next month. Muhyiddin said the king accepted his proposal.
Malaysia has plunged into a political crisis since the sudden resignation of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in February last year. The latest political tussle has come as the country is battling its worst Covid-19 outbreak.
Daily new reported Covid infections in the Southeast Asian country rose above the 10,000-mark for the first time in mid-July — and have stayed there since, despite lockdown measures and a state of emergency to control the virus spread.
Malaysia's health ministry said Tuesday that Covid cases are estimated to remain around 17,000 a day. It projected that daily infections would reach a peak in mid-September, before falling to around 1,000 cases per day in October.
The country has vaccinated around 22% of its population, the health ministry said.
