Muhyiddin Yassin came to power when the country's first major Covid-19 cluster began to spread after a religious gathering in Sri Petaling, and when he finally left office 17 months later, the gravity of the pandemic had spiralled to new heights.

Speaking to the editors of mainstream news outlets after tendering his resignation, Muhyiddin noted that his entire tenure had revolved around Covid-19.

"At the time, the issue of Covid-19 was just beginning but I did not even imagine...