I refer to the common assumption that at the recent Umno supreme council meeting, the party had unilaterally declared that both Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak were 'elected' or confirmed in their capacity as president and deputy president of Umno respectively.

This needs to be clarified. In the first instance, I am convinced that the supreme council has not constitutionally endorsed both Pak Lah and Najib as their 'elected president and deputy president of Umno' which can only be decided when nominations for the supreme council elections are received in September by the Umno headquarters.

I believe that the matter has been misinterpreted by some quarters within and outside Umno. The majority of the supreme council members and senior party members are fully aware of the provisions under Umno constitution and the mandatory requirements of the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

Nobody, including Pak Lah and Najib, has the constitutional right to declare that the Umno supeme council has 'elected' them to the post of president and deputy president of Umno.

As an ordinary member of Umno, I sincerely believe that Najib's media comments have been taken out of context and it is in the party's interests that the matter be clarified without any prejudice or pre-emptive insinuation in order to reflect the status quo of the two top posts in Umno.

Having said that, the posts of the president and deputy president have not been challenged since the last few party elections, which have been constitutionally documented by the consensus of Umno delegates during the respective annual general assemblies.

At this point in time, there are no definitive indications as to whether the two top posts will be challenged under the current leadership of the acting president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

I believe the final decision to be taken by Umno branch and divisional decision-makers, will be crucial in order to evaluate the genuine political power of both Pak Lah and Najib in order to be given the absolute endorsement to lead Umno.

I urge all Umno members to refrain from expressing their personal concerns over the two top posts and respect the current status quo of Pak Lah and Najib's positions as current acting president and deputy president respectively.

We should all wait until the closing of nominations for the election of the supreme council members in September before passing any premature judgement that may affect the integrity of the highest decision-making body within Umno.