Malaysia's veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been named the country's new prime minister, after several days of post-election deadlock. The new leader was appointed by King Sultan Abdullah, after elections over the weekend resulted in an unprecedented hung parliament. Neither Mr Anwar nor ex-premier Muhyiddin Yassin had won the simple majority needed to form a government.

"After taking into the consideration the views of Their Royal Highnesses the Malay Rulers, His Majesty has given consent to appoint Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia," said a statement released by the palace. Mr Anwar's Pakatan Harapan (PH) party, which won the biggest share of seats in Saturday's election, does not have enough seats on its own to form a government. It is not immediately clear which party he will enter into a coalition with.

It took five days of intense negotiations to reach an agreement on a new government, during which time various combinations of parties and forms of alliances were discussed, and then rejected. Many of the political leaders have personal and ideological differences which made it hard to find a workable majority. But the 75-year-old's appointment marks the fulfilment of a decades-long quest to become the country's leader.

He first served as the country's deputy prime minister in the 1990s, and was widely expected to replace then-prime minister Mahathir Mohammad. But he was brought down by not one but two sodomy convictions under Mr Mahathir - charges that Mr Anwar claims were politically motivated.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP