Malaysia PM Names New Deputy as Parliament Set to Reconvene

(Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has promoted two senior ministers into his cabinet as he seeks to win over a major coalition partner before the country’s suspended parliament reconvenes later this month.

Muhyiddin appointed Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as his deputy, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, while Foreign Minister Hishamuddin Hussein has been promoted to senior minister and will take over Ismail’s security portfolio. The changes have been presented to the country’s King and are effective immediately, the statement said.

The appointments come days after Muhyiddin agreed to reconvene the parliament for five days this month to discuss the Covid recovery plan amid growing pressure from the opposition parties and the monarch Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad, who made repeated calls in June for parliament to reopen before the emergency expires on Aug. 1.

Malaysia to Lift Parliament’s Months-Long Suspension July 26

Daily cases have nearly doubled since Muhyiddin imposed a state of emergency in January, sparking criticism over the government’s response. The country counted a little over 7,000 new infections on Wednesday, near the highest in a month.

Analysts say the promotions may be aimed at placating the United Malays National Organisation, the largest block in the coalition, after the party last month issued an ultimatum for the government to lift a months-long suspension on parliament. Both Ismail and Hishamuddin come from UMNO.

The move is also “a strategic arrangement by the PM to arrange the people in his camp to succeed him if there’s political turmoil before or after parliament reconvenes and he loses his position,” said Liew Wui Chern, a political analyst and lecturer at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.

UMNO’s support is key for Muhyiddin to maintain the razor-thin majority he cobbled together to emerge as prime minister last year. Ties between UMNO and Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party have been strained for months due to what UMNO perceived as a power imbalance within the government -- despite its larger size, UMNO holds fewer positions in the cabinet.

“It is hoped that this appointment will further enhance capabilities” of the ruling administration in the face of the pandemic and strengthen unity among coalition partners, the PMO’s statement said.

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