KUALA LUMPUR: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined a list of heads of government who congratulated Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on his appointment as the 10th prime minister.
The warm greetings posted on Albanese's Twitter account indicated that he expected the relationship to strengthen, which will ultimately benefit both countries.
"Congratulations @anwaribrahim on your inauguration as Malaysia's Prime Minister.
"I look forward to continuing the long history of friendship and cooperation between our countries, working together through Asean for the benefit of our shared region," he said.
Anwar was sworn in as Malaysia's 10th prime minister at Istana Negara on Thursday.
He took his oath before Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah at 5pm, ending a two-decade wait for the country's top post.
The 15th General Election on Nov 19 ended with no party getting the required 112-seat simple majority out of the 222 seats in Dewan Rakyat to form the new government. It resulted in a hung Parliament for almost a week.
The 'New Straits Times' had then reported that Pakatan Harapan, which Anwar chairs, and Barisan Nasional, had come to an agreement to form a new unity government.
This occurred amidst sessions these leaders and others had with the king since Saturday to determine who commanded a majority of support among members of the Dewan Rakyat.
NST reported that Anwar secured the support of at least 117 members of parliament, which gave him the legitimacy to be appointed as prime minister.