Malaysia's new Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, appealed on Monday to the divided nation for a chance to prove his mettle amid doubts over his legitimacy, and vowed to form a corruption-free Cabinet despite aligning with a former scandal-plagued party.
In his first address to the nation since being sworn in on Sunday, Muhyiddin said he wasn't a traitor and blamed former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for causing last week's political turmoil with his resignation.
He gave no explanation of why he led his Bersatu party out of the governing Alliance of Hope, depriving it of a majority and causing its collapse less than two years after its historic victory in 2018 that ousted a corruption-tainted coalition that had ruled for 61 years.
Bersatu joined hands with the same coalition that it ousted, along with several smaller parties, to form a Malay-majority government.
"I know some people are angry with me. As expected, some parties labeled me as a traitor. Listen carefully. I am not a traitor," Muhyiddin said in a late-night televised speech.
"My conscience is clear that I am here to save the country from prolonged political turmoil."
"I offer my body and soul to the country," Muhyiddin said. "Give me a chance to leverage my 40 years of political and government experience to steer Malaysia to glory."
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