KUALA LUMPUR • Despite the political uncertainty faced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia said yesterday that it will host the first-ever virtual summit of leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) nations next month.

Doubts had arisen earlier in the year if the summit would go ahead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

New Zealand, which is hosting next year's Apec summit, has said that it will use virtual platforms to conduct the meeting due to travel restrictions and uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin had faced calls to resign as doubts swirled over the support he commands, after Malaysia's King rejected his request to declare a state of emergency. But early today, Umno indicated that it would continue to support his Perikatan Nasional coalition.

In a statement, the International Trade and Industry Ministry said Mr Muhyiddin will chair on Nov 20 the Economic Leaders' Meeting which will have the participation of all 21 Apec economic leaders.

"Malaysia is making history by transforming Apec's usual ways of doing business and convening a majority of Apec meetings in a fully virtual format," it said.

Malaysia, which will be hosting Apec for the second time, said the summit is expected to launch the region's Post-2020 Vision, the key policy set to replace the "Bogor Goals" which will reach maturity at the end of the year.

The "Bogor Goals", adopted at the 1994 Apec summit in Bogor, Indonesia, called for all Apec economies to achieve free and open trade and investment by 2020.

Malaysia is facing a third wave of the coronavirus outbreak. It reported a record 1,240 new coronavirus cases yesterday, bringing the total number to 27,805.

REUTERS