Prime Minister Najib Razak is set to announce measures to open up internal voting to a larger number of party members at the Umno annual meeting tomorrow.

This is Najib's first party meeting since he became premier in April, so his speeches and the reaction to them will be watched closely.

What is being proposed and why is it important?

Umno has had a voting quota system in place since 1988, a rule introduced by then-prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad after he faced a leadership challenge. Under the quota system, 2,500 divisional delegates vote in internal polls out of its three million membership.

A wider electorate would help stem corruption, partly by making it more expensive to bribe so many voters, but also by opening up party elections to more scrutiny.

A second proposal would do away with the need to obtain a set number of nominations to contest senior party posts. It is not yet clear how wide the franchise will be. Some press reports say 20,000 members, some 60,000.

Proponents say the changes would help attract younger voters into the party and enable it to pick from a bigger talent pool of talent.

What is the likely outcome?

Umno will endorse the changes, the party rank and file generally do what they are told, and the success in Sunday's by-election after seven straight poll losses should boost Najib.

Mohd Isa Samad, a veteran Umno leader who was sacked from the cabinet and suspended from the party in 2004 for "money politics", has been rehabilitated and won the by-election against a PAS candidate.

Will it help Umno win back voters?

Probably the best that can be said is that it won't do any harm but it remains to be seen whether Umno members will take advantage of their new found freedom.

In reality, networks and relationships have been built up over decades and nepotism and factionalism are rife, so it would be a major surprise to see a strong challenger for a top

post.

Najib had one opponent when he stood for the party leadership this year, who won one nomination, from his own division.

What else to look for at the meeting?

Najib could send a strong signal he is firmly in charge of the party by announcing economic reforms at the Umno meeting. Najib has rolled back some restrictions that granted preferential share ownership to Malays, Umno's voter base.

However, any overt displays of racism towards Malaysia's substantial Chinese and Indian minorities, who deserted the government in the last general election could be negative.

In past meetings, Umno officials have unsheathed the party's symbolic dagger, a keris, and brandished it, a move that stokes memories of race riots that pitted Malays against ethnic Chinese.

Also of concern is the tone Umno delegates use about their allies in the BN coalition, especially the MCA which held an inconclusive extraordinary general meeting last weekend amid a leadership tussle.

How Umno positions itself relative to PAS, its main rival for Malay votes, will be of interest. Will it try to out-do PAS in courting the Muslim vote?

- Reuters