Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin became the country’s shortest ruling prime minister after he officially tendered his resignation today amid a prolonged and fractious power struggle with Umno that has left the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition in tatters.
The Cabinet has tendered its resignation to the Agong and Muhyiddin is now expected to address the nation soon.
The Pagoh MP led a tumultuous term that spanned just 17 months as he headed a fragile bloc of political parties that quickly turned against each other while he battled a pandemic that had wreaked havoc on the economy and killed thousands.
In the last few days of his premiership, Muhyiddin faced mounting pressure from both his political opponents and the public angered by a worsening public health crisis.
It is still uncertain who will succeed him as prime minister, with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob among names proposed for a new Umno-led coalition while Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan has yet to show it commands the majority in Dewan Rakyat.
At 1.02pm, Muhyiddin was seen leaving Istana Negara after spending about 40 minutes inside the premises.
He is expected to give a special address at about 3pm today.
This morning, Muhyiddin had chaired a special cabinet meeting at the Putra Perdana complex in Putrajaya.
Apart from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and other cabinet members, also seen entering and leaving the Putra Perdana complex were Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Affendi Buang, Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani and Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun.