Race to become Malaysia's next PM heats up as deadline looms

The race to become Malaysia’s next prime minister has intensified ahead of the king's deadline for lawmakers to name their preferred candidate

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The race to become Malaysia's next prime minister intensified Wednesday ahead of a deadline the king set for lawmakers to name their preferred candidate. King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has ruled out a new general election because many parts of the country are COVID-19 red zones and health facilities are inadequate. Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned as prime minister on Monday, has been appointed caretaker leader until a successor is found. Muhyiddin departed after less than 18 months in office amid infighting in his alliance and mounting public anger over what was widely perceived as his government’s poor handling of the pandemic. Malaysia has one of the world’s highest infection rates and deaths per capita, despite a seven-month state of emergency and a lockdown since June.