The vacancy in one of the three Umno vice-presidencies - created by the six-year suspension of Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad - will not be filled until the next party election, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said today.

Bernama quoted the Umno deputy president as saying that the Malay party will now do with two vice-presidents till its next party polls scheduled for 2007.

Isa's party membership was suspended for a time equivalent to two party terms after the Umno disciplinary board, at its two-hour meeting yesterday, found him guilty of breaching the party's election code in September last year.

He had won the post in a seven-cornered fight by polling the highest votes of 1,507. Melaka Chief Minister Mohamed Ali Rustam came in second with 1,329 votes while Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was third with 1,234.

Isa, who is also Federal Territories Minister, had denied allegations of money politics after securing the win.

Pak Lah's call

On Isa's ministerial post, Najib said it was up to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to decide whether the suspended member will get to keep it.

The deputy premier added that a recent Umno decision decreed that party leaders - against whom the disciplinary board had taken action - must temporarily vacate their post pending appeals to the board.

"If their appeal is successful, they can resume the post, if not, they have to vacate the post for the duration of the punishment as meted out by the disciplinary board," Najib explained.

He added that Umno had also fixed a policy whereby a person against whom action had been taken could keep a government post pending the outcome of an appeal.

"However, the final decision still rests with the party president and the supreme council members. As for the government post, it is the sole prerogative of the prime minister," he clarified.

Meanwhile, Kota Baru parliamentarian Zaid Ibrahim was given a three-year suspension for criticising the disciplinary board's decision to issue him a warning for his involvement in money politics.