Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad will be announcing the formation of a new party in a press conference on Friday afternoon, Aug. 7, reported Malaysiakini.

According to a media release issued by Mahathir's office, the press conference will be held at 4.30pm at his office in Yayasan Al Bukhary.

The party will be registered as Parti Bersatu Rakyat Malaysia, reported The Star.

This comes after Malaysia's High Court allowed Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to set aside a lawsuit by Mahathir and four other Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) members over their alleged wrongful termination from the party.

According to Malaysiakini, Justice Rohani Ismail said that the Mahathir and the four ex-Bersatu members do not have sufficient legal standing to sue as their termination from the party was confirmed in a Bersatu supreme council meeting on June 4.

Mahathir said on July 23 he would form a new party if the court did not rule in his favour, reported The Star.

Mahathir founded Bersatu in 2016 after he fell out with then UMNO president Najib Abdul Razak, which led to the former quitting the party.

He then led the Pakatan Harapan coalition to victory in the 2018 election, but a series of events led to his resignation and the dissolution of the coalition earlier this year.

Top image from Mahathir Mohamad's Facebook page