KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim must prove he holds a parliamentary majority before laying claim to the premiership.

Earlier in the day, Anwar declared he has secured a "strong, formidable" majority and that Muhyiddin "has fallen as PM".

"Until proven otherwise, the Perikatan Nasional government remains steadfast and I am the rightful prime minister," Muhyiddin said in a statement, referring to his ruling coalition.

In a separate statement, the secretaries-general of parties under the ruling coalition said they remain firmly behind Muhyiddin and rejected Anwar's assertion that he has majority parliamentary support to form the government.