The no-contest decision for Umno's top two posts, which was adopted by its Supreme Council yesterday, is not a solution to help cement the split within the party, political analysts said today.

Dr P. Ramasamy from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said the directive by the party's highest decision-making body would serve to further weaken the dominant party in the Barisan Nasional coalition. Umno, he said, had lost much credibility among the Malays, especially following its dismal showing in the Nov 29 polls.

While BN retained its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the recent polls, Umno obtained only 72 seats compared to the 94 it held in the last parliament. In addition, the party lost Terengganu to PAS and failed to re-capture Kelantan.

"We can't strengthen a party with a no-contest decision. It is merely a show to indicate Umno is a united party. We know that all this is decided by Mahathir," Ramasamy said.

"The party has to pay heed to the demands of the people. The people don't want Mahathir anymore and if Umno doesn't read that message, the party will continue to weaken," he told malaysiakini .

Umno's no-contest ruling, considered by many as a strategy to avoid a debilitating power struggle, means that Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's nomination as party president and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's nomination as deputy president would be unchallenged in the party's elections on May 11.

The assembly is traditionally held in June but party leaders including Abdullah have called for early party elections to end excessive politicking among aspiring candidates.

According to UKM's head of the political science department Dr Rashila Ramli, Umno had no choice but to opt for the no-contest ruling.

"The decision is needed as Umno candidates won the general elections with a small margin. It has also helped to shift the focus away from the top two posts which could cause further divisions within Umno," she said.

When asked about whether ousted deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim remains a factor in Umno, Rashila said that "it is time for forgiving and to put aside differences. For the betterment of the country, it would be good to accept Anwar's supporters".

Rashila believed that Anwar's supporters would return to Umno's folds if they could see significant changes within the party.

Rashila said the move for change in Umno must come from within the party. "The members must push for the change. If they want a participatory kind of leadership, they should voice it out."

The Supreme Council's no-contest ruling has strengthened the position of some party leaders and at the same time, dealt a decisive blow to the ambitions of a number of party stalwarts.

Former S46 leader Razaleigh Hamzah appears to have little future in Umno, while party vice-president Najib Tun Razak will be hard pressed to retain his position.

"However Rais Yatim's experience and credibility will go a long way," said Rashila.

Rais, a former S46 deputy leader, has hinted his intention to contest for the post of vice-president, along with other party hopefuls, Perlis Mentri Besar Shahidan Kassim, Johor Mentri Besar Ghani Othman and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

The three vice-president posts are expected to be hotly contested because the successful candidates would be in a better position to bid for the deputy president's position in the post-Mahathir era.