Malaysia's next prime minister appears to be Ismail Sabri

Sabri's appointment, if approved, will represent UMNO's return to power three years after voters rejected the party in historic polls.

Former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has secured a parliamentary majority from the same coalition that failed earlier this week, putting him closer to becoming the next administration.

If approved, Ismail Sabri's appointment would bring the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) back to power, three years after the party was defeated in a general election amid popular outrage over corruption and the multibillion-dollar 1MDB crisis.

Muhyiddin Yassin, the caretaker prime minister who resigned earlier this week after admitting he had lost majority support, said on Thursday that his coalition had unanimously backed his former deputy to ensure the continuation of policies on "fighting COVID-19 and the nation's recovery" until elections could be held.

In a statement, he noted that his support was contingent on Ismail Sabri confirming that the new cabinet members were clean of graft accusations.

When King Al-Sultan Abdullah meets with the country's other senior royals on Friday, a decision on the next government head could be made.

In Malaysia, the king's role is mostly ceremonial, but he has the power to pick the prime minister who he deems has the majority of support in Parliament.
He has stated that the candidate must demonstrate their support in a vote of confidence in parliament.