KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, has been named as the new prime minister of the country, the national palace said on Thursday.
The swearing-in ceremony for Anwar will be held at 5:00 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) at the national palace, it said in a statement.
Malaysia needs a stable government that will reinvigorate the economy and the country's development, said the statement.
Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said in the statement that Anwar's appointment was in line with the constitution, under which the king may appoint at his discretion any member of parliament (MP) whom he believes to have majority support as a prime minister.
Members of the public are also reminded to remain calm and the king also advised the new prime minister not to inflict further political calamity on the people and to build a stable government. All MPs are also reminded to stand in solidarity and give their commitment and make it a priority to serve the people.
Malaysia had been in a political stalemate following the indecisive results of a snap national polls last Saturday, with no political coalition or party securing enough seats in the lower house of parliament to form a government on its own.
The king held several audiences with the heads of major political coalitions in a bid to break the stalemate and convened the conference of rulers to deliberate on the matter.
Following the meeting Anwar, whose PH coalition won the most seats in Saturday's election with 82, was named as the Southeast Asian country's new prime minister, allowing the formation of a new government.
The lower house of the parliament has 222 seats and the voting for one has been postponed due to the sudden death of a candidate.
Of the major political coalitions contesting the 221 seats, Perikatan Nasional won 73, Barisan Nasional won 30, and GPS, the group of parties from the northern Borneo state of Sarawak, won 23, according to the election commission of Malaysia. ■
