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Malaysian PM misses cabinet swearing-in after COVID contact

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Malaysia" s="" Prime="" Minister-designate="" and="" former="" Deputy="" Minister="" Ismail="" Sabri="" Yaakob="" waves="" to="" reporters="" before="" his="" inauguration="" as="" the="" prime="" in="" Kuala="" Malaysia="" August="" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/08/30/20210830_malaysia-politics.jpg"/><figcaption>Malaysia&#x27;s Prime Minister-designate and former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob waves to reporters before his inauguration as the 9th prime minister, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia August 21, 2021. <em>Malaysia Information Department/Famer Roheni/Handout via Reuters/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia&#x27;s new prime minister missed the inauguration of his own cabinet Monday after coming into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus and being forced to self-isolate, his office said.</p><p>Ismail Sabri Yaakob&#x27;s ministers headed to the national palace for a swearing-in ceremony before the king, two weeks after the previous government collapsed during infighting.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/16/21/malaysias-muhyiddin-yassin-quits">Malaysia&#x27;s prime minister quits after just 17 months in office</a></li></ul><p>But Ismail Sabri -- himself inaugurated earlier this month -- had to skip the occasion after the virus contact, his office said in a statement, without giving further details. </p><p>He will also have to virtually join celebrations Tuesday to mark Malaysia&#x27;s National Day.</p><p>The new cabinet mainly compromises ministers from the previous government, prompting concerns they will be no better at combatting a fierce COVID-19 wave than their widely criticized predecessors.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/26/21/malaysian-sells-covid-19-vaccine-mock-ups-to-honor-dead">Malaysian sells COVID-19 vaccine mock-ups made of paper to honor the dead</a></li></ul><p>Ismail Sabri was appointed by the king after Muhyiddin Yassin quit when he lost his parliamentary majority, and during growing public anger at the government&#x27;s pandemic response.</p><p>He has reclaimed the premiership for scandal-plagued party the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), three years after they lost it at landmark elections.</p><p>Malaysia has been hit hard by the highly contagious Delta variant, reporting around 20,000 cases a day in recent weeks as well as hundreds of deaths.</p><div><br/><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1728452" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

He will also have to virtually join celebrations Tuesday to mark Malaysia's National Day.