Malaysia's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday he has secured a strong majority from lawmakers to form a new government and was seeking an audience with the king to formalize his appointment as prime minister.

Anwar, who will need the king's assent to replace current premier Muhyiddin Yassin, told a news conference his support from lawmakers means "Muhyiddin has fallen as PM."

"We have a strong, formidable majority. I'm not talking about four, five, six (seats), I'm talking about much more than that," said Anwar, who did not give any numbers but said it was close to two thirds of the 222 lawmakers.

"We need a strong stable government to run the country and save the country," he added.

The opposition leader's claim comes less than seven months after Muhyiddin clinched the premiership following political turmoil that saw the collapse of the previous administration under Mahathir Mohamad.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.