Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia's prime minister on Thursday in a victory for political reformers who were locked in a battle with Malay nationalists for days after a divisive general election produced a hung Parliament. Malaysia's king, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, named Mr. Anwar, 75, as the nation's tenth leader after expressing satisfaction that he is the candidate who is likely to have majority support. “I will take on this responsibility entrusted to me with humility and responsibility,” Mr. Anwar tweeted, after taking his oath of office in a simple ceremony at the national palace. Mr. Anwar’s multi-ethnic Alliance of Hope led Saturday’s election with 82 seats, short of the 112 needed for a majority. An unexpected surge of ethnic Malay support propelled former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s right-leaning National Alliance to win 73 seats, with its ally Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party emerging as the biggest single party with 49 seats.
