Former Malaysian finance minister Lim Guan Eng was detained by the anti-corruption agency after he was charged with corruption in a $1.5 billion undersea tunnel project.

Malaysia's new prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, appealed Monday to the divided nation for a chance to prove his mettle amid doubts over his legitimacy, and vowed to form a corruption-free Cabinet despite aligning with a former scandal-plagued party.

Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad called Sunday for an urgent Parliament sitting to contest the appointment of a former ally as the country's next prime minister under a new Malay-majority coalition that could further split the nation following the collapse of his multiracial reformist alliance.

Mahathir Mohamad said Wednesday that he will form a new nonpartisan government if he is elected to return as Malaysia's prime minister, as the king completed two days of consultations with lawmakers to resolve a political vacuum caused by the abrupt collapse of Mahathir's ruling coalition.

Mahathir Mohamad says he will return as Malaysia's prime minister if he has majority support from lawmakers.

After months of resisting pressure to hand over the premiership to his named successor, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad finally quit this week. But in a confounding twist, the 94-year-old leader emerged stronger than before, while his ruling alliance, which won a historic vote about two years ago, met its Waterloo.

Malaysia's king on Monday accepted Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's shocking resignation but reappointed him as interim leader following the collapse of the ruling alliance in a major political upheaval less than two years after its historic election victory.