Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Wednesday appointed a lawmaker from his allied party as his deputy, in what is seen as a calculated bid to dissuade the largest party in his ruling alliance from withdrawing its support for his leadership.
The announcement came just hours ahead of the meeting of a top decision-making body of the United Malays National Organization, or UMNO, which has long been unhappy at playing second fiddle to Muhyiddin’s Bersatu party and is expected to decide whether to quit the Government.