Malaysia's opposition leader Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday he would step down as president of his party, which leads the Malay-majority bloc Perikatan Nasional.
Muhyiddin, a former prime minister, said at his Bersatu party's annual meeting he will not defend his position as party president during internal leadership elections next year.
"The time for me to pass on the party leadership to a new team of leaders has arrived," he said in a speech.
Bersatu is part of the Perikatan Nasional opposition bloc, which is backed by a conservative Islamist party and
made inroads among the country's majority ethnic-Malay Muslims during regional polls in August and last year's general elections.
