Muhyiddin Yassin

First Transition and Collapse · Chronicle · 2 min read

The Sheraton Move: How a Government Emerged Without an Election

A Hotel Dinner, Mahathir's Resignation, and How Muhyiddin Became the Eighth Prime Minister

In February 2020, Bersatu exited Pakatan Harapan, Azmin's faction left PKR, and Mahathir's resignation dissolved the cabinet. After the King assessed MPs' support one by one, Muhyiddin was sworn in on March 1; the change of government followed constitutional procedures but without a new national vote.

First Transition and Collapse · Chronicle · 3 min read

How Did Malaysia MCO Change Politics?

Frontliners Suppressed the First Wave, but the Third Wave After the Sabah Election Tied Health and Politics Together Again

On March 18, 2020, the nationwide Movement Control Order began. The health system, frontliners, and public cooperation temporarily drove down cases; but lost income, the plight of migrants, cross-district travel during the state election, and political activities ensured that fighting the pandemic was never just a medical issue.

First Transition and Collapse · Treatise · 3 min read

COVID-19 Emergency: Why Parliament Could Not Meet

On One Side: Delta, Hospital Beds, and Vaccines; On the Other: The PM's Majority, Emergency Ordinances, and Public Royal Rebuke

The 2021 national emergency suspended normal parliamentary operations citing the pandemic. The government argued it was necessary to centralize resources and avoid elections; critics pointed out that ordinary laws could enforce lockdowns, and suspending Parliament simultaneously protected Muhyiddin's unstable majority. The King later clarified that Parliament could still convene during the emergency.

First Transition and Collapse · Chronicle · 3 min read

Why Did Malaysia Have Three Prime Ministers in Three Years?

A Weak Prime Minister, A Bipartisan Memorandum, and the Anti-Hopping Law Accidentally Spawned by the Sheraton Move

After Muhyiddin lost his majority, Ismail Sabri became the third Prime Minister in 39 months. To stabilize the government, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability with Pakatan Harapan; bipartisan cooperation pushed parliamentary reform and the anti-hopping constitutional amendment, showing that a weak government does not necessarily only bring paralysis.

Unity Government and Reform · Life · 4 min read

Who Is Muhyiddin Yassin? From UMNO Deputy to Pandemic Prime Minister after Sheraton

Johor Menteri Besar, deputy prime minister, Bersatu leader, eighth prime minister, and how a thin-majority government ruled during COVID-19

Muhyiddin rose for decades inside UMNO, serving as Johor Menteri Besar and deputy prime minister, before breaking with Najib over 1MDB and helping form Bersatu. After the Sheraton Move in 2020, he became prime minister, but had to govern through a pandemic, a thin majority, and an emergency controversy; to understand him is to understand how the old system recombined after the 2018 turnover.