As a Malaysian, I regret to note that the oppositions has politicised Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's intended resignation from the presidency of Umno and all other posts during the winding up of the recently concluded Umno general assembly.

The opposition deliberately speculated on the reasons for Mahathir's desire to resign from all party posts and retraction an hour later on the advice of Umno deputy president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and other senior supreme council members.

However, I believe that all Umno members and Malaysians love Mahathir and would feel deeply hurt if he genuinely decides to resign and hand over the Umno leadership to his successor for whatever valid reasons.

Umno members do not doubt Mahathir's sincerity if he were to resign from the Umno presidency in order to spend the remaining years of his life with his family, which he dearly deserves after having given more than half of his life to the party and the government.

However, some quarters of the opposition have deliberately belittled his intention to quit and see it as a ploy for him to consolidate and retain political power. There is absolutely no necessity for Mahathir to test his power base in the presence of the Umno delegates during the recently concluded general assembly.

I am sure all Umno members and also members of the Barisan Nasional component parties had expressed their undivided support for Mahathir to continue leading Umno, the BN leadership as well the position of the prime minister.

We all have to realise that Mahathir will be reaching 77 years old by year-end and despite his robust health, it is only natural that we are all concerned about the question of succession to the presidency in Umno as well as the coveted position of the prime minister.

In addressing this issue, I believe that with a strong and consolidated team of Umno supreme council members, the question of succession to the Umno presidency by way of tradition will not pose a problem, in the event of Mahathir's resignation or his inability to lead the party due to health reasons.

However, we have to face the reality of Umno politics today and if such a situation does arise, I am sure there will be no power struggle within Umno and I believe that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will take over the reign of the party as well as the position of the prime minister by consensus.

In conclusion, I feel that the opposition should not be unduly concerned about Umno's succession in the event that Mahathir is forced to relinquish Umno's leadership under any circumstances. The BN government will also not be affected and its position will not change unless the people themselves vote for a radical change in the coming election.

The question is whether the people are willing to give the opposition a chance to rule the federal government after so many wonderful years of good governance and continued development for Malaysia.

On the other hand, the BN government is making serious attempts to recapture the states of Kelantan and Terengganu in the coming election by winning the will of the people.