KUALA LUMPUR -- Muhyiddin Yassin, a former deputy prime minister who recently took the helm of Mahathir Mohamad's Malaysian United Indigenous Party, was appointed on Saturday by Malaysia's king to become the nation's eighth prime minister.
Mahathir challenged the appointment, saying in a statement "I am confident I have the numbers to garner a majority support from" members of parliament to keep the post. Earlier Saturday, Mahathir said he had struck a deal with his old rival and political veteran Anwar Ibrahim to be reappointed as prime minister.
