Malaysia's ruling party Umno marked its 60th birthday today with a beach-front party in Johor to celebrate its unshakeable grip on political power.

Some 60,000 supporters of the United Malays National Organisation gathered at the state palace next to the shoreline.

All the major roads in Johor, the birthplace of Umno, were decked with party banners and flags for the event officiated by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who appeared on television dressed in flaming red, a party colour.

Umno was founded to protect the rights of the country's majority ethnic Malays, and Abdullah urged them to further Malaysia's stated goal of achieving developed nation status by 2020.

"We will be a modern country and an advanced race," Abdullah told cheering supporters.

"We hope that on this date, UMNO leaders then would rise and proclaim that our race, the Malays, have emerged as a developed race," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

"Long live the Malays! Long live the Malays!" he shouted.

Opposed Malayan Union

The event, which began with prayers late Wednesday, includes musical performances, exhibitions and a re-enactment of the historic meeting which resulted in the party's formation.

When a group of activists formed Umno in 1946, their aim was to oppose the Malayan Union - a confederation proposed by the British colonialists - and to protect the interests of the Malays and state rulers.

Since then, the Barisan Nasional - a coalition led by Umno which takes in the parties for the Indian and Chinese communities - has gone on to sweep all the general elections since the first ballot in 1959.

However, it has seen rocky times. The 1998 sacking and imprisonment of deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, the heir apparent to veteran premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, saw angry protests and intense international criticism.

Nevertheless, to date all Malaysia's prime ministers since independence from Britain in 1957 have come from UMNO's ranks and even its critics agree there is little prospect of the nation ever being ruled by an opposition figure.

Enjoys strong support

National University Malaysia political scientist Mohamad Agus Yusof said Umno remained unassailable due to the support of the Malays which it has worked hard to elevate.

Umno has initiated a series of affirmative action policies over the years to boost the economic status of Malays, who lag their Chinese counterparts in wealth.

"Umno still enjoys strong support from the people, especially the Malays, because the opposition cannot come up with an alternative to the National Front," Mohamad told AFP.

Persistent allegations of high-level corruption and cronyism, which Abdullah vowed to tackle when he came to power over two years ago, have not made any dents, he said.

"There may be disatisfaction towards Umno because of nepotism and discrimination, but still the disatisfaction is insufficient to bring the opposition into power."