While the dust seems to have settled on Umno's top two positions after Abdullah Ahmad Badawi set his retirement date at June 2010, the battle has just begun for others in the party.

tengku razaleigh umno roadshow 160608 08 Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is still determined to contest the presidency, while a battle royale is shaping up over the three elected seats for vice-presidents - an Umno source said as many as 17 are working their way to higher ground.

The contest is particularly keen this year as one of the three vice-presidents could be picked as deputy prime minister when Abdullah retires in 2010.

Currently, only two of the elected vice-presidents’s posts are currently active, being held by Malacca chief minister Ali Rustam and International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

The third spot has been left vacant following the three-year suspension of Isa Abdul Samad in 2005, after the Umno disciplinary board found him guilty of ‘money politics’.

Isa, who had obtained the highest number of votes among the three veeps in the 2003 party poll, has yet to be restored to the post.

The source said Ali and Isa are likely to contest the same posts when Umno holds elections in December. There is doubt currently about Muhyiddin's intentions, as he is reportedly eyeing the deputy presidency.

Former Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad revealed recently that deputy president Najib Abdul Razak and Muhyiddin have made a secret pact to contest as No 1 and 2 respectively.

The equation has changed since Umno president Abdullah announced last week he would hand over power to Najib, leaving Muhyiddin out of the transition deal.

A newspaper reported yesterday that Muhyiddin - the Umno Pagoh head and former Johor menteri besar (MB) - has since accepted the transition of power.

muhyiddin yassin and umno At the opening of the joint annual meeting of Pagoh division's Umno, Wanita, Youth and Peteri branches on Sunday, he said: "I will assist the new leadership to expedite the return of confidence to party members and members of other Barisan Nasional component parties.

"After considering the amount of work Najib has to learn from Pak Lah, especially to strengthen solidarity in Umno and BN and fulfill the pledges made during the last elections, I think the two-year period is adequate."

He had initially commented that the handover timeframe as being "too long".

When asked if he would defend his vice-president's post, he was a non-committal, saying he would consider members' feedback before deciding.

Action starts on Thursday

Six other current or former heads of state governments also said to be in the fray are Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman, Negri Sembilan MB Mohamad Hasan, Pahang MB Adnan Yaakob, former Perlis MB Shahidan Kassim, former Malacca CM Rahim Thamby Chik and former Kedah MB Mahadzir Khalid.

rahim thamby chik Rahim, 58, could find the going hardest as he has been off the radar for some time now. His highest position was as vice-president and Malacca MB for 12 years.

He resigned in 1994 amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor - although he was later cleared - and has not held any position at national level since then.

Umno ministers said to be interested in the same seats are Hishammuddin Hussein, Shaziman Abu Mansor, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Syed Hamid Syed Albar, Zaid Ibrahim, Shafie Apdal and Khaled Nordin.

One surprise name thrown into the hat is that of Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin, although there is a school of thought that the time is not right and that he should first contest to head the wing.

Traditionally, no more than one vice-president has come from the same state. Neither has the president or his deputy.

hishamuddin hussein So it will be interesting to see how the ‘Johor delegation’ of Hishammuddin (right) , Muhyiddin, Shaziman, Syed Hamid and Khaled tussle over one seat.

Also fascinating will be the race between Musa and Shafie who are the chief and deputy chief of Sabah Umno respectively. With sentiments very much focused on appeasing Sabahans, it is likely that at least one will be in the final race.

umno 2008 vice president hopefuls 150708 To be eligible to contest a vice-presidency, candidates must obtain endorsements from 10 percent or 19 of the 191 divisions nationwide.

With eight ministers, four state chiefs, four former heads of state and one Youth candidate interested, it is likely that more than half will drop out of the race before divisional meetings begin in October.

Only Khaled and Rahim have made their ambitions public to date. But as branch meetings get underway from Thursday, more candidates will ‘offer’ their names to members.

Branch elections will be held from July 17 to Aug 24, while divisional elections are slated from Oct 9 to Nov 9.

Some 2,500 delegates are expected to elect the party leaders at the general assembly to be held in the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur from Dec 16-21.