Earlier in August 2020, Malaysia's former two-time prime minister announced the name of his new political party after leaving Bersatu, which he founded in 2016 after leaving his even older party UMNO.

Mahathir's new party nominates Mahathir as next PM

On Aug. 12, Mahathir revealed in a Facebook post that the party's name is Pejuang, which translates to "Fighter" or "Warrior".

Two months later on Oct. 17, Mahathir's political secretary announced in a Facebook post that the new party has nominated Mahathir to become Malaysia's prime minister for the third time.

Translation:

As pro-tem committee members of Pejuang, we have decided unanimously to nominate Mahathir as Prime Minister to replace the current Prime Minister while waiting for the 15th general election, if the country wants to be saved.

According to Mahathir's political secretary, the decision was made by the party unanimously in order to "save the country".

On Oct. 19, he said in a second post that he was confident in Mahathir's ability to "fix the damage that has hit the country".

Translation:

If you don't recognise or know someone, don't insult them based on unverified information or sources. If we can't afford to be a leader, don't force yourself to the point that you're willing to commit slander. I'm confident and trust Mahathir's ability to fix the damage that has hit our country.

Previously, Mahathir told reporters that he would not contest the next Malaysian general election as he would be 98 years old by then, if the elections go according to schedule.

Malaysia's political situation

Muhyiddin Yassim, the current president of Bersatu, was appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Malaysia's king, as the eighth Prime Minister of Malaysia, after Mahathir resigned as the seventh prime minister in February 2020.

Muhyiddin convinced the king that he had the support of a majority of MPs in the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia's Parliament.

On Oct. 13, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had a meeting with the King after claiming that Muhyiddin has lost his majority in Parliament.

However, he did not reveal any specific names or parties that are supporting him.

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Top image via Abu Bakar Yahya Aby, Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad/Facebook