CALMING THE WATERS: Mr Abdullah set a timeframe for his retirement in an attempt to restore stability in the country. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein said the announcement was a relief to all, while his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin said the plan was to calm down the political atmosphere in the country.

'It is to create stability so that the opposition will not take advantage,' Mr Khairy said.

Party information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib said the move was the best step to revive Umno.

But amid the general acceptance, several senior leaders, including Minister of International Trade and Industry Muhyiddin Yassin, have expressed unease over the long timeframe set for the handover of power to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Datuk Seri Abdullah on Thursday announced that he will hand over power to Datuk Seri Najib in June 2010, in an attempt restore political stability in Malaysia, which has been gripped by power struggles since the March 8 general elections.

The Premier has been under pressure to resign after leading the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition to crushing losses in the general election.

His announcement could ease some of the pressure on him, and deflate some support for potential challengers hoping to ride the groundswell of dissatisfaction among the Umno grassroots against Mr Abdullah.

His naming of a date two years in the future has, however, prompted some calls for him to show that he is serious.

Already, his harshest critics, including former premier Mahathir Mohamad, have poured cold water on the plan, saying that the real intention was to buy time, rather than to hand over power to Mr Najib.

This sentiment has resonated somewhat with the ground, as two years is an eternity in politics.

A Johor division chief, Mr Nur Jazlan Mohamad, who had earlier called on Mr Abdullah to resign, said it would give confidence to Umno if they could see a real power transfer happening.

'If the Prime Minister does demonstrate his sincerity by ceding more of his prime ministerial duties to Najib in the transition period, it will give confidence to the Umno grassroots that the power transfer is really happening,' he wrote in his blog.

An Umno insider said there is talk that Mr Abdullah should even contemplate going on leave some time at the end of next year, to enable Mr Najib to take over in an acting capacity.

Some gradual handover is likely to be seen from next year, although Mr Najib is already shouldering a large chunk of the daily administration. For example, he chairs more than 20 Cabinet committees.

In the meantime, Mr Abdullah will have to persuade the Umno ground to accept the transition plan. While there is no ban on a contest for the top two posts in the party elections in December, this move in effect discourages it.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin, who could still try to run for one of the top two posts, said some party members believed that it was better for the members themselves to decide on the question of leadership.

'We will see. The election is still far off,' he said.

Veteran Umno member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said it was not right for Mr Abdullah to hand over the top post to Mr Najib because it should be left to Umno members to decide who their next leader should be.

He also said the post of the party president which, by convention, makes the office holder the prime minister did not belong to anyone.

'It is improper for Abdullah to hand over any post as it is an elected post,' he said on Thursday.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told a rally on Thursday night that many Umno leaders had told him that they will fight Mr Abdullah, even with the transition plan already announced.

'Umno leaders have told me that if he even stays beyond this December, they will fight him,' he said.

Another outspoken divisional leader, Mr Puad Zarkashi, said Mr Abdullah should step down next year, noting that many party leaders were equally unhappy.

'I am a bit disappointed. We wanted him to expedite the power transition. Two years is too long,' he said.

carolynh@sph.com.sg