Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will have the final decision on Federal Territories Minister Mohd Isa Samad's position in the cabinet.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, it is the premier's prerogative to decide on this matter.

"His position in the cabinet is the premier's decision, any decisions on his position is up to the premier," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Last Friday, the Umno supreme council upheld the guilty verdict on Isa, the party's vice-president, for practising money politics.

However, it halved his initial six-year suspension, imposed by the disciplinary board, to three.

Final decision

Abdullah, who is also Umno president, had described this as the final decision and no further appeals would be entertained.

Following this, Najib said Mohd Isa must relinquish his cabinet post as this was 'the convention'.

Mohd Isa was found to have breached the party's election ethics by practising money politics during last year's Umno polls.

He took one of the three vice-president posts up for grabs with the highest number of votes.

After the disciplinary board's decision, he had appealed to the Umno supreme council, the party's highest decision-making body.

Mohd Isa, following the supreme council's decision, said he is prepared to resign from his cabinet post.