Its information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib said yesterday: 'If elections are held now, it could prove disastrous for the party.'

Umno, the main partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional which suffered its worst electoral setback in decades earlier this month, is due to hold its party elections in August.

Datuk Seri Abdullah must seek election as party president then, but rules allow polls to be delayed until June next year. Umno's president is also the Prime Minister.

The postponement bid, to be decided at a meeting tomorrow, is being read as an attempt by an embattled PM Abdullah to buy time to buttress his position.

A possible challenge by Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is looming.

PM Abdullah was busy yesterday averting another crisis, a constitutional deadlock over who can be the Menteri Besar of Terengganu.

The Terengganu palace last week rejected his choice and named its own man.

Both sides dug in their heels, but yesterday the Prime Minister said he would seek an audience with the ruler to break the impasse.

The Sultan, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, is also the current King, under a system where rulers of various states take turns to hold the position.

'I will certainly be meeting with Tuanku...I wish I could have done it yesterday,' said Datuk Seri Abdullah.

But the palace's choice - Datuk Ahmad Said - showed up for work yesterday at the state secretariat in Kuala Terengganu, amid heavy police presence.

'It would have been difficult not to accept the position...as I had been selected by the palace,' he said.

The PM's man, former Menteri Besar Idris Jusoh, yesterday still questioned the appointment but also sought the Sultan's forgiveness for 'everything'.

'I accept whatever is the decision and respect the concept of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy,' he told reporters. 'I accept whatever decision in the interest of the people.'

The palace is silent on why it rejected him, but local media speculated that it was unhappy with the way he awarded lavish projects in Terengganu to politically-connected outsiders. There were also claims that he neglected protocol in his palace dealings.

PM Abdullah needs to resolve the issue as strained ties with uncooperative rulers can hobble his administration.

'There are ways of overcoming this present problem. We know what the situation on the ground is...people are exploiting this situation for their own objectives,' he said.

Since the March 8 polls, he has been fighting fires on many fronts, from his Cabinet appointments to calls for him to resign and the threat of his MPs defecting to the opposition.

carolynh@sph.com.sg

Abdullah: We lost the battle in cyberspace: ASIA