The Umno supreme council has not discussed the replacement for deputy president as the change in the party leadership will only take effect in October next year, said vice-president Muhammad Muhd Taib today.

"Until then, Dr Mahathir Mohamad is Umno president and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is deputy party president," he told malaysiakini .

However, he agreed that the party supreme council would have to discuss the matter when the post is eventually vacant after Mahathir hands it over to Abdullah next year.

Muhd Taib also said matters pertaining to the deputy president post was not mentioned during the Umno management committee meeting with Mahathir in Putrajaya last Sunday.

Asked about the possibility of contest for the number two post, he reiterated: "Dr Mahathir has not retired yet, he will only relinquish his post next year."

Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Khalil Yaakob was reported today as saying the supreme council will hold a meeting soon to decide whether the party elections, scheduled for June next year, should be postponed until after the general election.

He said the Umno constitution has been amended to allow the supreme council to decide whether to postpone it or not.

Constitutionally, he said, there should be party elections next year, but the party has to take into account that the general election is more important.

Amendments to the Umno constitution provides for the triennial election for the posts of president, deputy president, vice-presidents, Youth and Wanita chiefs and supreme council members be delayed up to 18 months.

PM's decision

Muhd Taib also confirmed Khalil's statement that Mahathir's wish to give up all his party and political posts after Oct 2003 was his own decision and not a compromise reached with the Umno management committee.

He said the committee, headed by Abdullah, met with the prime minister in Putrajaya on Sunday to hear the full version of his retirement plans.

The confusion arose because of news reports claiming that a compromise had been reached during the meeting.

On Monday, Umno information chief Megat Junid Megat Ayub was quoted as saying that the party supreme council would announce a "compromise" that had been reached at the meeting.

After a special meeting of the Umno supreme council the next day, Khalil read out a statement from the council, which said it had accepted the premier's decision to retire next October after chairing the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meet in Kuala Lumpur.