JAKARTA, Indonesia 

Malaysia’s king has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and told him to continue as caretaker until a successor is appointed, the royal palace announced on Monday.

Muhyiddin becomes the country’s shortest ruling prime minister as he leaves after just over 17 months in office, following bitter infighting in the ruling Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.

“After his resignation, His Majesty [King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah] has agreed for Muhyiddin Yasin to carry out his duties as the caretaker prime minister until a new prime minister is appointed,” read a palace statement.

Earlier in the day, a minister confirmed that Muhyiddin and his Cabinet had tendered their resignations to the monarch.

“Thank you for the opportunity to, once again, serve the nation. May God bless Malaysia,” Khairy Jamaluddin, the science, technology and innovation minister, said in an Instagram post.