KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Muhyiddin Yassin, a former Malaysian deputy Prime Minister, has secured support from several major political parties to contend for the post of the country's next prime minister, following the abrupt resignation of 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad.
Muhyiddin now stands head to head against Anwar Ibrahim, also a former deputy Prime Minister and the candidate of the political coalition Pakatan Harapan (PH) to become the next prime minister.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), whose chairman is Mahathir, said Friday that party president Muhyiddin would be presented as the party's choice to be the candidate for the prime minister.
Major opposition including the Barisan National led by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), which has been Malaysia's ruling coalition until defeated by the PH coalition in the 2018 general elections, has voiced their support for Muhyiddin.
Muhyiddin had served as the deputy prime minister under former Prime Minister Najib Razak, but was sacked in 2015. He then joined PPBM as president and served as the home minister after the 2018 elections, until Mahathir abruptly resigned on Monday.
On the same day Mahathir resigned, Muhyiddin announced the departure of PPBM from PH, costing the coalition's parliamentary majority.
The PH said Friday that Anwar had the command of the most support among the members of parliaments and would seek an audience with the King.
Who will emerge as the new prime minister is likely to be decided by the support of lawmakers from Malaysian state of Sabah and Sarawak on North Borneo.
The latest development came after the national palace said earlier Friday that Malaysia's King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah will continue to find a way to solve the current political stalemate within the constitution, adding that a special parliamentary session to pick a new prime minister will not be held.
Sultan Abdullah was not convinced on whether any prospective candidate for prime minister had the confidence of a majority of the country's 222-seat lower house of Parliament, Comptroller of the Royal Household for the National Palace Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement.
The statement added that Sultan Abdullah concurred with the decision by House Speaker Mohamad Ariff Bin Md Yusof that a special parliamentary session to pick the new premier on Monday previously announced by interim Prime Minister Mahathir would not take place.
Mahathir said on Thursday that the king believed there was no prospective prime minister candidate who commanded a majority among the members of parliaments, and a special parliamentary session would be held to decide who will become the new prime minister.
