Khairy Jamaluddin has offered himself as a candidate for Umno presidency, despite previously stating that he was vying for one of the three vice-president's posts.

The Umno youth chief confirmed this in a posting on Instagram today, on which he uploaded an image of his nomination form. 

The post was accompanied by a Malay proverb "Alang-alang menyeluk pekasam, biar sampai ke pangkal lengan," which means to go all out until a job is finished.

In a Twitter posting, Khairy, 42, also wrote: "Let the chips fall where they may." 

Khairy's candidacy came as a surprise, as he had previously stated that he was gunning for the Umno vice-presidency, and had reportedly ruled out contesting the roles of either president or deputy.

His candidacy would make him the fourth person to throw his hat into the ring, and comes just one day after party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah officially announced his bid, following intense lobbying from several quarters.

They will face Umno acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as well as the lesser-known blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz, the latter being seen as the underdog in this race to the top.

Khairy had been featured in an image being circulated by members of Tengku Razaleigh's camp after the latter had announced his presidential bid, being flanked by deputy president candidate Mohamad Hasan, and vice-presidential candidates Johari Abdul Ghani and Mohamed Khaled Nordin. 

A source from Tengku Razaleigh's camp told Malaysiakini that the youth chief's candidacy was probably aimed at splitting the votes, so as to increase Zahid's chances of winning.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who once helmed Umno, had opined that Khairy would be best suited to assume the role of Umno president.

The Rembau MP dismissed this, however, stating that the premier was just being sarcastic, or was merely ribbing. 

Following Umno's poor showing at last month's general election and subsequent calls for a shakeup within the party, Umno announced that the top two posts would be open to contest.

This was a departure from the decision made at the last general assembly for the posts of party president and deputy to remain uncontested this year.

Despite its thumping at the 14th general election, Umno remains the biggest opposition party with 54 parliamentary seats.