Umno Supreme Council member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has announced that he is prepared to be nominated to contest against Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the party president post.

The former Umno vice-president announced his decision to go for the top party post in his speech at the opening of the Gua Musang Umno Youth and Wanita meeting this morning.

"So today, on a good day and a good month, in front of all of you, and following urges and requests from many, particularly friends, I feel it's not too extreme if I were nominated for the post of (Umno) president," he was quoted by Bernama as saying.

"If the number (of nominations) is sufficient as stipulated by the party constitution, I'm prepared to consider accepting the nominations," he said to loud applause and shouts of 'Hidup Ku Li' from the 1,000 delegates and guests who were present.

Rumours were rife that he would go for the number one post following his earlier indication that he would vie for one of the top party posts.

Razaleigh, who is the Gua Musang division chairperson, said that he was offering himself as he wants democracy to flourish in the party.

He added that he was willing to offer himself to contest for Umno presidency because "the post is vacant".

"The post (of president) is still vacant and the party responsible in deciding the (holder of the) post are the Umno members through the divisional delegates meetings nationwide.

"Furthermore, and as far as I know, no one has made an offer for the post at the moment except for myself. I hope I will get the support from the divisions if they feel I am qualified and suitable.

"If they feel I am not qualified, what can I say, this is just an offer to serve from someone who has been long in the party but without a position, although I am full of eagerness to champion the cause of Umno," Razaleigh said.

He said that it was now up to Umno members throughout the country whether to accept his candidacy and nominate him for the post at their divisional delegates meetings.

Razaleigh needs a total of 58 nominations to qualify for the contest, to be held at the Umno general assembly in September.

The party's supreme council had previously decided that the top two posts should not be contested to ensure that the party stays united.

However, Razaleigh urged party leaders to respect the spirit of democracy which has been practised by Umno for decades and leave it to party members to make their own choice in the polls.

Times are different

Meanwhile, Kelantan's Tanah Merah division chief Hashim Safin felt the going would be very tough for Ku Li to get enough nominations for the top party post.

"But, since he has offered himself to contest the post, it is up to divisions to nominate the candidates of their choice," he said when contacted by malaysiakini .

In the last Umno election in 2000, the Tanah Merah division had nominated Ku Li to contest both for the president and the deputy president posts. Hashim was the division chief then.

The Pasir Mas division, also in Kelantan, then led by expelled Umno member Ibrahim Ali, was the only other division which nominated Ku Li to contest for the deputy post.

"The feeling now is that the majority of party members want Pak Lah and Najib to be given ample time to prove their leadership for the party and the country," said Hashim.

"Furthermore, Pak Lah has just assumed the premiership from Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) in October last year, while Najib was only appointed just before the March 21 general election.".

According to Hashim, his division which is scheduled to meet on July 20 would nominate Pak Lah and Najib for the top two posts.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Ali when contacted today said that he would not comment on the matter as "he is no longer Umno member".

He was sacked from the party after contesting as independent candidate for the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat against the BN candidate after he was not reappointed to head the division.

Shahrir: Not a serious challenge

Vice-presidency candidate Shahrir Samad told malaysiakini that he does not believe that Razaleigh's announcement should be taken as something that could pose serious challenge to the president's post.

"I'm not sure if he will get enough nominations. I doubt so - mainly because there are no major issues affecting the party and there is no real sense of dissatisfaction against Abdullah's leadership," he said.

"The situation today is not similar to 1987, where Musa Hitam's departure as deputy president had created a split in the top party ranks. This time, there is no such thing," noted the Johor Baru division chief, himself a former Team B man during the crisis years, when the faction led by Razaleigh raised serious challenge to party president Mahathir's Team A.

When asked to speculate on what may be the reasons behind Razaleigh's motivation, Shahrir said: "I think he's driven by the sense that he's better than Dollah Badawi... the fact that he is more senior, has been around longer, and had fought the party president at a time when Dollah was only running for the number three post. Because of that, he can never consider being number two or three to Dollah."

Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of the prime minister and a likely candidate for Umno Youth deputy chief, was tight-lipped when contacted by malaysiakini .

"Anybody is free to contest... (but) I don't think this will change anything significantly," he said.