He said this when asked about the future of PPBM following the fallout between him and party president Muhyiddin Yassin, who will be appointed as the eighth prime minister later this morning.

“That is for the party to decide, whether they are going to expel me as chairman, which is going to happen because the majority has rejected me as chairman.

“They can officially expel,” he told reporters at the Yayasan Al-Bukahry building here.

Asked if he, as chairman, would sack Muhyiddin, Mahathir said he was not in a position to do so.

He also said Muhyididn’s decision to appoint himself as acting chairman during his absence was illegal as it was not in line with the party’s constitution.

“But, to him, that is not important, he now claims he is leader of PPBM, but I am still chairman.”

Mahathir had stepped down as PPBM chairman on Monday after resigning as prime minister. The party’s supreme council, however, unanimously rejected his resignation as chairman the next day.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin issued a statement saying he was the acting chairman pending party elections.

Mahathir again explained why he resigned as prime minister, stressing that he could not work en bloc with Umno to form a government

He said it would mean collaborating with the likes of former prime minister Najib Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, both of whom are facing corruption charges.

“And the court may find it embarrassing to take action against the government.”

He said Muhyiddin, on the other hand, was willing to accept anything. “He says poltiics are more important than principles, so because of that, I cannot go along with him.”

Mahathir also dismissed claims he backed Muhyiddin as the prime minister.

He said he told Muhyiddin he had “no choice” when Muhyiddin asked if he would support him as prime minister.

“Whether I support or not is irrelevant, but he then went around saying I endorsed his candidature as prime minister.”