PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Umno will go ahead with party elections scheduled for this year, amid calls for polling to be held soon, in order to resolve what is being seen as "differences" among its leaders.

Party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has agreed for party polls to proceed.

"An appropriate date sometime this year will be fixed to hold party elections for all levels," he said.

The party last week decided to postpone its annual assembly and internal polls which were to be held at the end of this month (January) due to the surge in coronavirus cases. Umno had originally planned to hold the annual meeting and elections at the end of last year (December 2020), but this too was postponed due to Malaysia's Covid-19 situation.

Umno's party polls are held every three years.

In the last elections in 2018, Ahmad Zahid was elected president while Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan was elected deputy president.

Umno also elected Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid and Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin to fill the three vice-president positions.

The Malay party is wracked by conflicting agendas among party warlords, factional infighting and a failure to repair its graft-tarred image.

The simmering tensions in Umno surfaced in recent weeks, with party leaders clashing publicly on how to proceed with their alliance with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

There have been more calls from within Umno for polls to be held to resolve conflict among its leaders, as elections would let its three million members determine the party's way forward and mandate to face the general election.

Political analyst Professor Sivamurugan Pandian said the party polls would be an acid test of Umno's readiness to face the 15th General Election (GE15).

"The backlash within the party will be bigger if it is postponed. Holding elections would let the party resolve internal issues relating to party leadership," he said.

Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan agreed that polls should proceed as it would strengthen the party at all levels of leadership - from branch to divisional to national.

"We must give the chance to the grassroots to determine the future of the party at a time when the party is facing unprecedented challenges all around us.

"I thank the president for clearly placing the interest of the party above everything else by committing Umno to its original plan of having the party elections this year," he said when contacted.

Umno Youth chief Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said allowing party polls to take place shows that members' rights to determine leadership were respected.

"Any changes in the leadership structure must be done by members through elections and not through external pressure, " he said.

Datuk Asyraf added that while Umno respects differences in opinion, this is not the time for polemics, particularly on the issue of party leadership, and called on members to focus on solidarity and to respect the institution.

"Umno should be at the forefront helping and defending issues affecting the people at a time when they are facing difficulties and uncertainties in the midst of a pandemic," he said.

Pulai division chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed said several factors would determine if party polls can actually be held this year, including the government's enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) due to a spike in Covid-19 cases and the proclamation of emergency.

"This is now the King's government and party elections - including Umno's - do not really matter while Parliament is suspended," he said.

Umno also announced that the party's annual general assembly, scheduled for Jan 30 and 31, has been postponed again following the new MCO and the Emergency.

The general assembly was earlier scheduled for Dec 6 and 7 last year but had to be postponed due to rising cases of Covid-19.

Under Clause 8.2 of the Umno constitution, the AGM must be held within 18 months from the last meeting.

The last general assembly took place from Dec 4 to 7 in 2019.