Najib Tun Razak on May 6 was officially sworn in as Malaysia’s Prime Minister following the victory of his Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition (BN) in the general election on May 5.

The sworn-in ceremony was witnessed by Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah and other senior officials at the royal palace in Kuala Lumpur .

Najib Razak has served as Malaysia’s Prime Minister since 2009.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition (BN) won 133 of the National Assembly’s 222 seats, beating the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (People’s Alliance - PR) of Awar Ibrahim, which secured only 89 seats.

The BN won control of ten of the country’s 13 states.

According to analysts, the BN victory relied heavily on rural voters and ethnic Malays, receiving little support from urban voters.

Over 80 percent of the 13 million voters participated in the general election, the largest recorded turnout and the most dramatic poll in the nation’s history.-VNA