He said party members who wished to contest for the presidency, deputy presidency and vice-presidencies should announce their intention as soon as possible.

“There’s no need to hide or discuss the matter behind the scenes,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Umno’s general assembly here today.

Isham said the party’s general assembly was the best platform for prospective candidates to announce their intention to contest the top posts.

He said the party’s leadership had no intention to prevent anyone from contesting for the positions.

He also denied claims that there were moves to prevent others from challenging Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

“There’s no intention to amend the party’s constitution barring the contest for these posts,” he said.

The Umno Supreme Council has yet to decide whether the two top posts should be contested in the party elections, which must be held before May 19, or within six months of the conclusion of the recent general election.

Yesterday, a group of Umno divisional leaders urged Zahid not to allow any contests for the top two posts, saying the party needed to be strengthened in view of the coming elections in six states.

Group spokesman Wangsa Maju Umno chief Shafei Abdullah claimed they represented 140 division chiefs. However, the number of those at the press conference seemed much lower than that.