The minister is supported by Deputy Minister of Defence which is.
He has already said that the candidate must prove their support in a confidence vote in parliament.
Ismail Sabri must also be held responsible for all the failed policies, standard operating procedures and actions taken during the current pandemic, he added.
Angry Malaysians had launched an online petition to protest Ismail's candidacy, with more than 340,000 signatures collected so far.
A lawyer by training, Ismail Sabri has been a member of parliament since 2004 and a cabinet minister under two other prime ministers before Muhyiddin, with portfolios such as rural and regional development, agriculture and domestic trade.
In a 2015 Facebook post, Ismail Sabri urged Malays to boycott businesses run by ethnic Chinese, media said.