Sabah Umno deputy chairperson Shafie Apdal today supported the suggestion by fellow party supreme council member Dr Rais Yatim that the two top positions in Umno be contested.

"I am supporting it because it is in the constitution and should be clearly spelt out," he told reporters after launching the Courteous Driving Campaign in Kuala Lumpur.

shafie campaigning launching 250908 shafie apdal.jpg "It is the right of members under the (party) constitution to contest," added the unity, culture, arts and heritage minister.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Rais said the two top posts should be open for contests in order to strengthen the democratic process in Umno.

"Umno is in dire need of a strong democratic process and I belong to that group where the (positions) of the president and the deputy president should be challenged," he said.

Shafie, also the Umno Semporna division chief, further echoed Rais, stressing that the decision should be left to the grassroots on whether the top two posts should be contested.

He said that Umno, a party based on 'mass movement', practices a democratic leadership process where the grassroots have a major role in strengthening the party.

"They (the grassroots) have the right to set a direction where Umno should be heading as the party has a big grassroots base," he added.

Non-committal on support from Sabah

Shafie, who was reported to have put pressure on Prime Minister and Umno president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down earlier than 2010, however refused to comment if Sabah would follow in the footsteps of Penang and Kelantan which have decided to back the transition plan.

"No I can't say, I do not want to comment on that," he said when asked.

On July 11, Abdullah announced that he and his deputy Najib Abdul Razak have agreed on the June 2010 transition plan.

In another development, Shafie said the proposed Race Relations Act, which falls under his ministry, is still in the early stages.

"(As of now) I don’t want to comment on that as it is in a very early stage. (However) we will look at the necessary issues and the content (of the act). What we are looking at the moment is the ones that have been implemented in the United Kingdom and other places," he said.

Shafie said both his ministry and the Home Ministry would have to collect input from non-governmental organisations and individuals on the contents and scope of the act.

Last week, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the act would include provisions for punitive action and would use the federal constitution as a guideline.

However, it will not focus on punishment alone but also help build and strengthen race relations.

Watch 4-min video of Shafie's press conference