MALAYSIA'S king on Monday said the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister during the turmoil this year was proper and constitutional, days after parliament put off a vote on an opposition challenge to his leadership.
Mr Muhyiddin's appointment on March 1, at the end of a week of political wrangling that led to the collapse of the ruling coalition, has been challenged by the opposition, who say it was not clear that he had majority support from among the 222 members of the lower house of parliament, the Dewan Rakyat.
The speaker of the lower house had at first approved a motion tabled by Mr Muhyiddin's 94-year-old predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, seeking a vote of no confidence in Mr Muhyiddin, but the vote was postponed indefinitely after the government shortened Monday's meeting, allowing time only for the royal address.
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