A former interior minister was sworn in as Malaysia's premier on Sunday, marking the return of a scandal-mired regime to power after the last government's collapse but ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad slammed the move as illegal.
The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into turmoil a week ago as Mahathir's reformist "Pact of Hope" alliance, which stormed to a historic victory in 2018, collapsed after a bid to force out leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim.
Mahathir - who was the world's oldest leader at 94 - then quit, triggering a race for the premiership which he ultimately lost to little-known Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads a coalition