The fake election is over. Malaysians must now wait until September to see real free and fair elections - with no phantom voters and no assistance from the Election Commission chairman - in which Umno members will elect their leaders to lead our country to 'new heights'.

Many statements have been made that the number one and two posts should not be contested and the present acting and deputy president should have a free passage to win unconditionally while other posts are up for grabs.

With due respect for the present acting president and his deputy, both of them have become leaders by default as a result of one man's misfortune in earning the wrath of the former president who thought that the 'heir apparent' would challenge him in the last Umno elections.

The tradition of the president's and deputy president's posts being contested dates back to the formation of the party in the 1940s. When Sir Onn Jaffar resigned from the party, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman was challenged for the president's post but he won. If I am not mistaken, even the late Tun Abdul Razak was challenged for the deputy president's post by the late Tun Dr Ismail, who later lost.

Who can forget when our third prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn, was challenged in the 1970s by an unknown Sulaiman Palestine, with the former winning hands down. In the 1980s , there was a big battle for the number two post in which our then deputy prime minister Datuk Musa Hitam beat his rival with a double majority for the number two slot.

Those were the glory days of the party where democracy thrived and the losers were not branded as traitors. There was no mudslinging or character assassination. Gentlemen's conduct was observed to the fullest. There were no witch-hunts by the winning parties to purge opponents and their supporters.

Fair play, and fighting and losing like a gentleman lost their value, when our fourth prime minister was challenged by the gentleman prince from the east coast. From that day, respect for the opponent and decorum lost its meaning.

Umno leaders became sycophants and apple polishers of our great leader who could do no wrong and overstayed his welcome for 22 years by dubious means. Let us bring back the glory of past years by opening up the contest for president and supreme council members.

I am sure those who work hard and who are not involved in money politics will not be afraid to face challenges to win the seats that will determine their party and government position. Democracy is all about delegates being free to choose their leaders to lead the party to new heights and prosperity.

It should be a 'win-win' formula for everyone. It should not create an atmosphere where incumbents can hold the seat until they either retire 'voluntarily' or are involved in scandals that would force them to leave their party and government seats like we have seen before.

Umno must reinvent the wheel to stay relevant. The era of warlords ruling the party is over. If you don't change now, you may end up like the Congress Party of India and Golkar of Indonesia which lost their bearings owing to their own arrogance in not respecting their voters needs and values.

These two are now back in power but their relevance and credibility had suffered and they were groping in the wilderness for some time. Umno may go the same way and may not be so lucky to win back a mandate.