KUALA LUMPUR - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's last day as prime minister was met with mixed reactions from Malaysians, with some welcoming his resignation as "punishment" for the "coup" that led to his appointment 18 months ago, while others hailed him as the best leader the country had.

Social media was set abuzz on Monday (Aug 16) after Mr Muhyiddin stepped down, with the hashtag #Muhyiddin trending on microblogging site Twitter.

It was used more than 79,500 times on Monday.

"Good riddance and thanks for nothing, Muhyiddin," said Twitter user @aidarshd.

Another Twitter user, @TypicalMsian cheekily wrote: "RT (retweet) if you won't miss Muhyiddin as PM."

It was retweeted more than 4,200 times, just hours after it was posted.

Mr Muhyiddin, who was Malaysia's eighth prime minister, resigned on Monday after losing his majority in Parliament.

He was among the lawmakers who in February last year left the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, causing the coalition to lose its majority and collapse.

In recent months, public anger against Mr Muhyiddin's Perikatan Nasional administration has steadily intensified following a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases despite the government declaring a state of emergency and imposing lockdowns.

On Monday, a total of 19,740 new cases and another 274 deaths were reported. The number of daily cases in the country has been in the five-figure range since July 13, while the total number of people infected has crossed a million.

A recent survey done by independent pollster Merdeka Centre in July found that nearly 64 per cent of respondents believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction - almost double the number from June last year.

The approval ratings for the outgoing premier have also fallen to 50 per cent, compared with 67 per cent in April.

But not everyone thinks that Mr Muhyiddin has done a bad job.

A Twitter user identified as @alimhaziq wrote: "I would like to say, abah (father) @MuhyiddinYassin, you already did the best and you are the best prime minister, thank you abah ... we are going to suffer like we did 22 months ago," referring to PH's 22-month rule.

Mr Muhyiddin was fond of referring to himself as "abah" in his televised speeches to the nation.

"Now, you can rest abah @MuhyiddinYassin, don't give your efforts until (you're) too tired to people who don't appreciate you," the Twitter user added.

Twitter user @farisschoy also took to social media to commemorate Mr Muhyiddin.

"Muhyiddin started his journey as PM with doa (prayers), he ended his journey with doa. May Allah bless him," he said.