Ismail Sabri Yaakob sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister

Malaysia — Mr Ismail Sabri Yaakob was sworn in as Malaysia’s ninth prime minister on Saturday (Aug 21) and began his official duties.

The 61-year-old politician is also the United Malays National Organisation’s (UMNO) vice president. He took the oath of office before the country’s King, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, at the national palace.

Mr Ismail Sabri was sworn in a day after he was appointed to be the next prime minister of Malaysia at 2.30 pm. The king emphasized that the government should continue to focus on fighting against the Covid-19 virus.

He added that the country’s citizens should not have to endure the effects of political tension amidst tumultuous times when the country’s health and economy are at stake.

A few days before the ceremony on Aug 16, Malaysia’s previous prime minister Mr Muhyiddin Yassin resigned following the loss of majority support in the lower house.

The next day, the 220 members of parliament (MP) in Malaysia were instructed to declare their choice of prime minister candidate to the palace.

Out of the 220, 114 MPs chose Mr Ismail Sabri. Another 105 lawmakers picked the opposition’s candidate for prime minister, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, who asked that his supporters accept Mr Ismail Sabri’s new position.

In a Facebook post, Mr Ismail Sabri shared that he was excited to pay Singapore a visit and speak with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Both nations have had a long-standing relationship that is still strong to this day, and he expressed his wish to strengthen the current bilateral relations with Singapore even further.

“I expressed Malaysia’s high commitment to further strengthening our existing bilateral relations on top of exploring new potentials in various fields for our mutual interests,” Mr Ismail Sabri wrote. “I look forward to visiting Singapore and meeting His Excellency to discuss how both Malaysia and Singapore can benefit from the longstanding relationship.”

/TISG