KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s cabinet led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has tendered its resignation to the king, science minister Khairy Jamaluddin said in an Instagram post on Monday.

“The Cabinet has tendered our resignation to the Agong,” Jamaluddin said.

The message was posted after Muhyiddin had an audience with King Abdullah on Monday noon where he is widely believed to have tendered resignation after losing the majority in the lower house of parliament, according to Xinhua news.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our beloved country and her people,” Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein wrote on social media.

According to Xinhua, Muhyiddin has been holding on to power with a slim majority since becoming prime minister in March last year.

He was facing a defeat in a potential vote of confidence after Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, president of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a component of the ruling Muhyiddin coalition, announced withdrawing UMNO’s support for the prime minister together with a number of UMNO parliamentarians.

Muhyiddin appealed to members of parliament (MPs) across party lines to support his government on Friday with a number of reform promises and initiatives, but his proposal was rejected by the UMNO and opposition parties, Xinhua reported. (ANI)