Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's flagging campaign to rid the government of corruption has been revived with the suspension of a cabinet minister found guilty of graft, analysts said.

Federal Territories minister Isa Samad, also a vice president of the main ruling party Umno, is the biggest scalp so far in the drive launched after Abdullah came to power in 2003.

Umno's disciplinary board suspended him for six years for vote buying during the party's fiercely contested leadership elections last September, when he unexpectedly won the vice-president post despite being considered an outsider.

Isa's press secretary Zamri Zainol Abidin confirmed the board advised Isa of its decision by letter on Friday.

His political secretary Salim Shariff, who was among three other Umno figures also suspended over the affair, said the 56-year-old minister was "shocked and saddened" by the move and would launch an appeal.

Isa "has served the government for 24 years and Umno for 30. His good deeds have not been considered," he said.

If the decision is upheld, Isa will lose his post as vice-president and Abdullah will come under pressure to dump him from the cabinet.

The board's rapid decision surprised Malaysian commentators, many of whom had criticised the prime minister for failing to have the political will to rid Umno of the graft and patronage that has dogged it for decades.

Expectations raised

Abdullah, who is also Umno president, pledged to make the fight against graft a cornerstone of his administration, raising expectations that many senior figures would be prosecuted for corruption.

Instead, disenchantment has grown over his efforts, despite the suspension of some lower-ranking Umno officials and the trials of a former minister for fraudulent share transactions and a prominent businessman for embezzlement.

While Abdullah has been careful to distance himself from the disciplinary board's activities, analysts said the crackdown was part of moves to revive perceptions that his performance has been lagging in many areas.

Abdullah's attempts to promote 'Islam Hadhari' an approach which stresses economic progress and moderation, have met with a sleepy response from Malaysians, while the economy has seen high inflation and graduate unemployment.

"Among Malaysians there is a general sense of drift and the perception that Abdullah has lost control, so this may be an area where he can get some traction," said Clive Kessler, a Malaysia specialist and author.

"This gives him the possibility of asserting himself both in relation to the public at large and his own party specifically," said Kessler, adding it remained to be seen if the move against Isa was "too little, too late."

Money politics 'open secret'

Shahrir Abdul Samad, a member of Umno's supreme council, said Isa's prosecution is proof that the party is willing to tackle tough internal issues.

"It shows Umno is prepared to start with ourselves as an example because if we talk about getting rid of corruption while we have money politics tainting us and nothing being done, then of course we ourselves cannot be credible," he told AFP.

Shahrir said the presence of money politics was an "open secret" that had been left to fester with no serious action.

"The former prime minister (Mahathir Mohamad) lamented about it but nothing was done," said Shahrir, a long-time critic of corruption within the party.

Analysts said the focus would now be on whether Isa's penalty was softened during the appeals process, and if any more Umno members would face similar charges.

Newspaper reports have speculated that other top members will soon be hauled before the disciplinary board but Abdullah on the weekend said he was not aware of any such plans.