Acting Umno deputy president Hishammuddin Hussein will not be offering himself as a candidate for any positions at the national level party elections at the end of this month.

Hishammuddin wants to make way for younger leaders and will commit himself to helping rebuild the party in other ways, he told a press conference in Johor Bahru today.

"I am fully aware that the GE14 results signal the need for drastic reforms in Umno. (The result) was the voice of the people.

"I share the responsibility for our defeat," he said.

He said reforming the party would require a strong commitment from the party members and those offering themselves to be the new leaders must be given a chance.

Hishammuddin is a trained lawyer and son of Malaysia's third prime minister Hussein Onn. He is also a cousin of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

He had experienced a meteoric rise in Umno, becoming the Umno Youth leader with just 10 years of political experience under his belt.

He had helmed senior cabinet positions such as the education, home affair and defence portfolios, which had put him on track to become prime minister.

At 56, he is a relatively young Umno leader and staying out of the Umno polls now will likely make any ambitions of becoming first among equals all the more difficult.

Hishammuddin is a six-term MP. In the May 9 elections, he retained the Sembrong seat while garnering 59 percent of the total votes cast, down six percent from the previous election, which meant that on average, he fared much better than most Johor BN candidates.

However, he pledged to continue to help rebuild the party, starting from his home state Johor.

"The struggle this time around is not about any individual but about the strength of the team. This is not about status but about contribution," he said.

Hishammuddin said he had discussed this with acting president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Johor BN chief Khaled Nordin (photo).

Two days ago, Hishammuddin said he would not run away and would ensure the continuance of the party, with or without a party position.

Following Najib's resignation as both Umno president and BN chairperson after the May 9 election, Hishammuddin is serving as the acting party number two, with deputy president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi carrying out the functions of Umno president.

Zahid has decided to run for the party presidency while ousted Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Mohamad Hasan is eyeing the deputy's post.

Prior to this, speculation had been rife that Hishammuddin was considering to contest the deputy president's post.