KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah has accepted the resignation tendered by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet, the national palace said on Monday.

Sultan Abdullah also appointed Muhyiddin as the caretaker prime minister until his successor was chosen, the national palace said in a statement.

In a televised address, Muhyiddin said he resigned as he had lost the majority support in the lower house of parliament, as per Xinhua.

According to Reuters, Muhyiddin’s hand had been weakened by months of infighting in his coalition and it is unclear if the developments will ease Malaysia’s political crisis after a tumultuous 17 months in office for the prime minister.

The palace said an election was not the best option and King Al-Sultan Abdullah was happy for Muhyiddin to stay on as caretaker.

“The king has received the resignation letter of Muhyiddin Yassin and the entire cabinet effective immediately,” it said in a statement on Facebook.

This is the second time the Malaysian government has collapsed since the 2018 general election, causing a power vacuum amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia Now wrote.