A former interior minister was sworn in as Malaysia’s premier Sunday, marking the return of a scandal-mired regime to power after the last government’s collapse but ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad slammed the move as illegal. The Southeast Asian nation was plunged into turmoil a week ago as Mahathir’s reformist “Pact of Hope” alliance, which stormed to a historic victory in 2018, collapsed after a bid to force out leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir — who was the world’s oldest leader at 94 — then quit, triggering a race for the premiership which he ultimately lost to little-known Muhyiddin Yassin, who heads a coalition dominated by the country’s ethnic Malay Muslim majority. The decision Saturday by the monarch to pick Muhyiddin was greeted with shock as Mahathir’s allies claimed he had enough support to return as leader, and sparked widespread anger that the democratically elected government was being abruptly ejected. The king appoints the country’s prime minister, who must show he has the support of most MPs. Muhyiddin’s coalition includes the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the party of disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak, as well as a hardline group that wants tougher Islamic laws.