Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s king said Wednesday that the new prime minister he picks must swiftly seek a confidence vote in Parliament after a deadline for all lawmakers to submit the names of their preferred candidates to the palace passed.

Based on the lawmakers’ choices, King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he will pick a candidate he believes has majority support, but this must then be tested in Parliament. He is to meet with eight other Malay state rulers on Friday to discuss the decision.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s king summoned the heads of political parties on Tuesday as he swiftly began the task of selecting a new prime minister amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has accepted the resignation tendered by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet, the national palace said on Monday.

Sultan Abdullah also appointed Muhyiddin as the caretaker prime minister until his successor was chosen, the national palace said in a statement.

In a televised address, Muhyiddin said he resigned as he had lost the majority support in the lower house of parliament.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — With his last-ditch plan to seek opposition backing for his government rejected, embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday appeared set to resign after failing to cobble up majority support.

Mohamad Redzuan Mohamad Yusof, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, told the Malaysiakini online news portal that Muhyiddin will submit his resignation to the king on Monday.

“Tomorrow, there will be a special Cabinet meeting. After that, he will head to (the palace) to submit his resignation,” Redzuan was quoted as saying.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian air force officer went on a shooting rampage Friday, killing three colleagues before turning the gun on himself, officials said.

Police in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island said the shootings occurred at a security post on an air force base in the state, and that they were still investigating the motive.

Sarawak deputy police commissioner Mancha Anak Ata said an initial investigation showed the gunman had snatched firearms from the security post before going on a rampage.

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 6 (NNN-Bernama) — The daily COVID-19 cases are expected to continue increasing before the country’s vaccination rate achieves 80 per cent by the end of the October, said deputy Health director-general (Research and Technical Support) Dr Hishamshah Mohd Ibrahim.

He said currently, the rising new cases in the country were due to new variants such as the Delta variant.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (NNN-Bernama) — The Drug Control Authority (DCA) in its 362nd meeting today, gave conditional registration approval to Spikevax 0.20 mg/ml Dispersion for Injection COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (nucleoside modified), also known as COVID-19 Moderna vaccine for use in the current disaster situation.

Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in his statement today said approval for the product was for product registration holder (PRH), Zuellig Pharma Sdn Bhd and the manufacturer, Rovi Pharma Industrial Services of Spain.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (NNN-Bernama) — The newly appointed ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar Erywan Mohd Yusof must be given full access to all parties in the country in the effort to help address the current situation there. 

Malaysia’s Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs Hishammuddin Hussein in welcoming the appointment of Erywan, who is Brunei’s Foreign Minister II, said it is an important step towards the implementation of the consensus adopted at the ASEAN leaders meeting on April 24. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (NNN-Bernama) — ASEAN Foreign Ministers today underscored the importance of strengthening the 10-member grouping’s cooperation with external partners and international organisations to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Foreign Ministers said this in a joint communique of the 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting released today.

“We welcomed the continued contributions from ASEAN member states and external partners to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund which now has pledged contributions amounting to USD 20.8 million.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday that he will seek a confidence vote in September to decide if he commands majority support among members of the country's lower house of parliament.

Muhyiddin said in a televised speech that he still held the support of a majority of members of parliament (MPs) and had informed the country's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.

"A motion for a vote of confidence in me will be tabled in the lower house when parliament convenes in September," he said.