Mustapa Mohamed and Mohd Ali Rustam have emerged as the two most popular vice-presidential candidates for the upcoming Umno polls.

As of today, Mustapa, who is also Umno Kelantan chief and minister in the Prime Minister's Department, took pole position in the popularity race with Mohd Ali, the Malacca chief minister, coming in at second place.

Interesting to note is the close fight for third place between Federal Territory Minister Isa Abdul Samad and incumbent Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhd Taib.

According to sources, the placings of candidates for the three vice-president posts were determined based on their interactions with the delegates from the G6 and G7 groups.

The G6 group comprises delegates who are the head, deputy head and vice-head of each division, together with the heads of their respective Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings. They were automatically chosen as delegates to the general assembly by virtue of the posts they hold.

The G7 group is made up of delegates from each division selected during the divisional meetings held last month.

The G6 group is more inclined towards supporting candidates endorsed by the Menteris Besar club while the delegates from the G7 group tend to support candidates from the ranks of ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

Reliable information

Asked about the veracity of the placings, the sources said: "The information about the latest popularity placings has been obtained by the campaign managers of the candidates involved... to us, they can be believed."

However, the sources also admitted that it was still early, and the placings were still fluid, but according to them, they still indicate how fierce the fight for the three posts of vice-president is this time around.

"The placings will certainly attract attention because the two incumbents - Muhyiddin Yasin dan Muhd Taib - appear to have slid down the rankings," they added.

They said that according to the latest placings, Muhyiddin was in fourth position, followed by Shahrir Samad and Adnan Yaakob.

They added that they have taken into account every bit of information and feedback they have received about the candidate they supported, as well as about the other candidates, to ensure the effectiveness of the campaign being carried out by them.

In any case, they said, the campaigns being carried out by all the agents and representatives of candidates have so far been complying with the guidelines issued by the supreme council (SC).

"Till now, from my observations, those who have been campaigning for the vice-president posts, SC seats or the Exco of Youth, Wanita or Puteri, have all complied with the guidelines," they added.

However, they said, the contesting and campaigning will grow fiercer and hotter as the party polls draw nearer.

The Umno polls will be held during the party's general assembly on Sept 23.

As to the positions of the 59 candidates for the SC seats, the sources said that as of today, the situation was still unstable with support for candidates from the ranks of menteris besar and ministers continually changing.