Ismail Sabri Yaakob sworn in as Malaysia's new prime minister

This handout photo from Malaysia's Department of Information shows Malaysia's incoming Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob taking the oath of office during his swearing-in ceremony as the country's new leader at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 21, 2021. /CFP

Ismail Sabri Yaakob

was sworn in as the new prime minister of Malaysia on Saturday.

TV live-broadcast showed Ismail Sabri, wearing traditional Malay clothes, taking the oath of office in front of Malaysia's King, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, at the National Palace.

Ismail Sabri, 61, succeeds Muhyiddin Yassin

who resigned on Monday after losing majority support in the lower house of parliament.

He is the vice president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and had served in Muhyiddin's cabinet as defense minister before being appointed as deputy prime minister in July.

Ismail Sabri has received backing from his own party UMNO and other parties in Muhyiddin's government, which gave him the simple majority in the lower house of parliament.

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In a statement on Friday, the National Palace said Ismail Sabri received backings of 114 out of the 220 members of the lower house of parliament, which gave him the confidence of the parliamentary majority to form the government, and hence the king agreed to appoint him as prime minister in accordance with the constitution.

Ismail Sabri's taking office marks the return to power of UMNO, which governed the Southeast Asian nation for more than six decades since independence, but was defeated in a 2018 election over a scandal at state fund 1MDB.

He becomes Malaysia's third prime minister since the 2018 election, after UMNO withdrew its support for Muhyiddin last month, citing his failure to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: This handout photo from Malaysia's Department of Information shows Malaysia's incoming Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob (left) receiving documents from King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah (right) before taking the oath as the country's new leader at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 21, 2021. /CFP)