Muhyiddin Yassin has been sworn in as the new prime minister. Many people were surprised because 94-year-old Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the oldest prime minister in the world, was widely expected to be reappointed for a third time.
Umno and PAS were the defeated parties in the historic 2018 general elections that produced Malaysia’s first regime change since independence. Umno had been the ruling party for nearly six decades before losing to PPBM and Pakatan Harapan . Mahathir had established PPBM specifically to beat Umno, and almost the entire PPBM leadership was ex-Umno.
The short answer is no. While the new administration will appoint a few non-Malays to the administration, make no mistake, this is an all-Malay government and its focus is on the Malay and Muslim community. In fact, the Umno president, Zahid Hamidi, who is facing 47 charges of money-laundering , is trying to get a cabinet post in the new Muhyiddin administration. The attorney-general has resigned and his replacement will probably not go after high-profile Umno individuals now that Umno is back in government.