Malaysian PM refuses to resign, delays vote by a month

Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has refused to resign after a key ally pulled support for him, but says he will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament next month to prove his legitimacy to govern

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin refused to resign Wednesday after some lawmakers in his alliance pulled support for him, but said he will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament next month to prove his legitimacy to govern. Shortly after a meeting with King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah at the palace, Muhyiddin said in a national broadcast that he had been informed by the monarch that eight lawmakers from a key party in his ruling alliance had withdrawn support for him. The party, the United Malays National Organization, is the largest in the alliance with 38 lawmakers, but it is split with some not backing the premier. UMNO's president declared Tuesday that Muhyiddin had lost the right to govern with the withdrawal of support from some party lawmakers and after an UMNO minister resigned. Muhyiddin said he told the king that he has received sufficient declarations of support from lawmakers that “convinced me that I still have the majority support" in Parliament. He didn't give any numbers.