A new chapter in Malay politics unfolds this week as Malaysia's all-powerful ruling party holds top-level elections at its annual congress Thursday that will seal the 11-month leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Abdullah, who took over when Dr Mahathir Mohamad retired after 22 years in power last October, has established his credentials with a resounding victory in March's general election, a healthy economy and goodwill sparked by the surprise release from jail of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

The 64-year-old Abdullah will cement his grip on power when he is officially endorsed at the congress as president of Umno, which has headed the country's ruling coalition since independence from Britain in 1957.

He and his deputy Najib Razak are both unopposed but this year's Umno polls hold special significance for many new Malay politicians aspiring to make it to the inner circle under the new administration, observers say.

Seven party stalwarts are battling for the three influential vice president posts, seen as stepping stones to the country's top two slots.

Fifty-one candidates - many of them new faces who won in March's general election and were given government posts - are vying for 25 seats at the Supreme Council, Umno's highest decision-making body.

The vice presidential race is led by Agriculture Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who faces competition from three state chief ministers, a cabinet minister and two others.

Anwar factor

In Umno's traditional hierarchy, the party president is invariably the prime minister. His deputy in the party and in government is seen as the heir-apparent.

"This is the last stage in the transition from Mahathir Mohamad's era to Abdullah's," said Umno vice president Muhammad Muhammad Taib, who will be defending his post.

"The outcome of the election is therefore very important because it determines the line-up who will continue the party's struggle under Abdullah's leadership."

The release of Anwar has stirred a hornet's nest among Umno's top ranks, many of whom are beginning to settle in after the long Mahathir years and have no wish for a potential challenge from the popular former premier-in-waiting.

Anwar, who is in Germany recuperating from a back surgery, was freed earlier this month after six years in jail on a charge of corruption. As a convicted criminal, he is not allowed to stand for any elected or party post until 2008.

Senior cabinet members, from Abdullah down, have made it clear there is no room for Anwar in the only party which would give him any real chance of reviving his ambitions to lead the country.

Pak Lah's agenda

Abdullah said Anwar was not regarded a serious threat to Umno. "The political radar of Malays, especially Umno members, is so sharp that even a dragonfly can look like an aeroplane to them," he said, in dismissing the fuss over Anwar's release.

Anwar was heir-apparent to then-premier Mahathir before being sacked in September 1998 and later sentenced to a total of 15 years in jail on charges which he says were trumped up to prevent him challenging Mahathir for the premiership.

Although he can contest the next general election due in 2009, Anwar's chances of making it to the country's top post outside the Umno fold appear bleak as the ruling coalition holds 90 percent of the seats in parliament.

On Thursday, Abdullah is expected in his maiden presidential speech to outline his agenda to help improve the lot of the economically weak Malays, who make-up some 60 percent of the country's 25 million people.

Like his predecessor Mahathir, Abdullah has voiced concerns that Malays have become spoiled and lazy because of affirmative action programs designed to help them catch up with the wealthier Chinese minority.