Anwar Ibrahim named as new Malaysian PM

The National Palace of Malaysia, on Thursday, named Anwar Ibrahim, leader of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition as the country’s new Prime Minister.

The swearing-in ceremony for Anwar will hold at 5:00 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) at the national palace, it stated.

Malaysia needs a stable government that will reinvigorate the economy and the country’s development, said the statement.

Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in the statement that Anwar’s appointment was in line with the constitution.

Under the constitution, the king may appoint at his discretion any member of parliament (MP) whom he believes to have majority support as a prime minister.

The palace urged members of the public to remain calm.

The king advised the new prime minister to build a stable government rather than inflict further calamity on the people.

The King also reminded all MPs to stand in solidarity with commitment and make it a priority to serve the people.

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Malaysia had been in a political stalemate following the indecisive results of snap national polls last Saturday.

After the poll, no political coalition or party secured enough seats in the lower house of parliament to form government.

The king held several audiences with the heads of major political coalitions in a bid to break the stalemate and convened the conference of rulers to deliberate on the matter.

Following the meeting, the King named Anwar, who won the most seats with 82, the country’s new prime minister.

This allows the prime minister to form a new government.

The lower parliament has 222 seats and voting for one was postponed due to the sudden death of a candidate.

Of the major political coalitions contesting the 221 seats, Perikatan Nasional won 73 and Barisan Nasional won 30

Also, GPS, the group of parties from Sarawak, won 23, according to the Election Commission of Malaysia. (Xinhua)