Umno president-in waiting Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's prolonged silence o­n the choice of his deputy is creating unease among supporters of Najib Abdul Razak who fear that this may lead to a wane in support for the party vice-president.

In view of this, Umno supreme council member Nazri Aziz's recent public pledge of support for the vice-president, was seen as an attempt to pressure Abdullah to recognise Najib as his deputy, who is also the preferred choice of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"His (Nazri) statements could be a 'test run' to gauge the mood of party members o­n Najib being Abdullah's deputy," said a source close to Umno recently.