Presidential spokesperson Fadjroel Rachman said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressed his sincere good wishes and congratulated Muhyiddin for his inauguration.

“God willing, [he will] fulfill his mandate and be successful. Hopefully [God] will continue to bless the good relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia, two countries that share the same roots,” Fadjroel tweeted on behalf of the President on Sunday.

Later that day, in a video that aired on Malaysian broadcaster TV3, Muhyiddin was seen receiving a phone call from President Jokowi, who congratulated him on his appointment as prime minister.

"The Indonesian government stands ready to work together with the government of Your Excellency Tan Sri Muhyiddin to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia that has so far been well established," Jokowi told the Malaysian leader.

Following the imminent collapse of his Pakatan Harapan (Pact of Hope) alliance last week because of back-channel coalition talks, Mahathir submitted his resignation and triggered a race for the premiership, which was eventually won by the lesser-known Muhyiddin, 74, who heads a coalition dominated by the country’s ethnic Malay Muslim majority.

He took the oath as the country's new leader at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur in an elaborate ceremony after convincing Malaysian King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah that he had the support of most of the country’s 222 members of parliament (MPs) – a prerequisite for becoming prime minister.

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