He said the proposal was raised at the general assembly last year by several party divisions.

“As such, the party is now gathering feedback from all its divisions nationwide. They have been asked to submit their views through Umno’s constitution and membership bureau,” he told FMT.

Khaled was responding to Langkawi Umno chief Nazifuddin Najib, who had yesterday stated that his division rejected a proposed return to the “delegates system” to elect the party’s top leaders.

Nazifuddin said the old system had not only become irrelevant to current political realities but also went against the principles of democracy and openness championed by Umno.

On Jan 23, Khaled said on Facebook that party leaders were still deliberating over several matters, including the electoral process, but did not elaborate further.

Last July, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was also reported to have said the party was prepared to look into proposals to amend the regulations on its electoral system.

In 2013, Umno introduced the current electoral system, which allows 150,000 members to vote nationwide as opposed to only 3,000 delegates at the party’s general assembly.