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The former vice-president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Hishammuddin Hussein, told reporters on Jan. 13 that he was planning to run for one of the top positions in the party, according to Malaysian media.

Hishammuddin, who is currently the Sembrong Member of Parliament (MP), did not explicitly state which position he would be running for, but said that he would wait and see if there would be a contest or not.

He said:

“We have to wait for this Umno general assembly to make its resolution first.”

“If it decided that the positions should be open for contest, then I do not mind considering contesting in the upcoming party election,"

Hishammuddin spoke at UMNO’s General Assembly which kicked off at the World Trade Centre on Jan. 13 after the party's “worst general election” in history according to Malay Mail.

Second senior leader interested

He is the second former senior party leader who had explicitly expressed interest in running for the top leadership positions in UMNO.

Former Malaysia health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said he is considering running for the post of president of UMNO at the next party election.

“Will I contest for the presidency of my party? I am thinking about it,” he said in response to a question during an ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute regional outlook forum in Singapore earlier in the week (Jan 10).

Khairy, a former UMNO Youth chief, said that he would be committed to supporting Anwar Ibrahim's unity government should he or his allies win the presidency of UMNO.

In the 2018 election, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was elected as president with 93 votes, defeating his two challengers Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Khairy.

Held top leadership positions in government

Hishammuddin was previously Malaysia’s Senior Minister of the Security Cluster and Minister of Defence, making his expression of interest in running for UMNO’s top leadership - such as the positions of president and vice-president - significant.

He was appointed UMNO’s youth chief in 1999 and subsequently became its vice president in 2009.

He continued to hold several ministerial positions till the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) defeat in the 2018 elections.

He does not hold any current ministerial position in the Anwar administration, despite being the Senior Minister of Security Cluster last year.

To be contested or not?

The potential contest on the top two spots for UMNO presidency sparked debate because party leaders reportedly held different opinions on the contestability of the positions in question, according to a later report by the Malay Mail.

At a press conference, UMNO President Zahid Hamidi said that he was confident in defending his presidency should it be challenged in the upcoming elections, according to Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

In a speech delivered on Jan. 12, the chief of UMNO’s women’s wing Noraini Ahmad said that the posts of the party’s president and vice president should not be contested, calling for an “opportunity to strengthen the party for the sake of Umno’s survival and for the country,” The Star reported.

Khairy, on the other hand, wrote in an Instagram story posted on Jan. 12 that it is “madness” to prevent contestation, urging not to “kill democracy in Umno”.

UMNO’s party election is scheduled to be held in the middle of the year, though no dates have been confirmed yet, according to a later report by FMT.

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Top images via Office of Hishammuddin Hussein & UMNO Malaysia