KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S trade minister announced on Friday that he is vying to become the country's No. 2 leader after leading a dissident campaign in the ruling party that has virtually secured the prime minister's ouster.

Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced he will contest the post of deputy president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) during party leadership elections in March 2009.

A victory would automatically make him the deputy prime minister.

Mr Muhyiddin has been the most vocal official in calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who presided over the party's massive losses in a general election this year.

Faced with the possibility of a split in the Umno, Mr Abdullah announced on Wednesday he will step down in March and hand over power to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Mr Muhyiddin is seen as the strongest contender to fill Mr Najib's shoes compared to three other lesser-known politicians who have declared their intention to run for the job.

Mr Muhyiddin said his top priority would be to help Mr Najib unite the party, national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

On Thursday, the Umno's district branches began the monthlong process of nominating candidates for various leadership posts.

Mr Najib is expected to easily win enough nominations to contest the post of president.

His only challenger is veteran politician Razaleigh Hamzah, who is unlikely to receive the required minimum number of nominations.

Political analyst at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies Singapore, Ooi Kee Beng said that political uncertainty would increase in the next months as candidates fight for endorsements.

'With Abdullah gone, the field is quite open,' he said. 'The six-month transition really means six months of infighting.'

The Umno forms the core of the 13-party National Front coalition that has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957.

Its popularity, however, has plummeted amid racial tensions, religious disputes, a weak economy and enormous corruption.

In March general elections, the coalition returned to power with only a simple majority, a far cry from the two-thirds majority it had enjoyed since 1969. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is now threatening to topple the government with parliamentary defections. -- AP