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KUALA LUMPUR Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has until December to secure his position in his party UMNO.
He has to regroup before the party's general assembly, when elections will be held.
It remains to be seen if his leading challenger, Kelantan prince Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will get enough support to oust Mr Abdullah.
It has been a stressful three weeks for Prime Minister Abdullah, since the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition he led suffered its worst electoral setback in decades.
The 68-year-old has been facing challenges from all fronts since he was sworn in for his second term as prime minister.
His problems range from feisty royal rulers reasserting themselves in the states, to growing dissatisfaction among coalition partners as well as within his party UMNO over the new cabinet line up, to defection worries and possible leadership challenges.
But Mr Abdullah appeared unfazed when he spoke after UMNO's supreme council meeting.
He said he is ready to face his challengers at the upcoming party polls.
The party's highest decision making body has fixed December 16 to 20 for the general assembly, despite earlier proposals to postpone it till next year.
Mr Abdullah must seek re-election as party president if he wants to continue to be the prime minister.
He said, "If they have the support, they want to challenge, I have to face it. I am not going to run away."
Former UMNO vice president Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was the first to throw down the gauntlet, offering himself for the top post.
The 70-year-old Kelantan prince claimed that he could help heal the party that is losing its dominance among the Malays.
In order to contest, Tengku Razaleigh needs to secure at least 30 percent of support among the 191 divisions - that is 60 nominations.
The party veteran has been lobbying hard for support - in the past week, he has met divisional heads and grassroots leaders at his residence popularly known as the White House.
Meanwhile, the public confrontation with the Sultan of Terengganu has further exposed the Prime Minister's weakened position.
The supreme council on Thursday rubberstamped Mr Abdullah's decision to lend full support to Ahmad Said, the palace's choice as chief minister of Terengganu, and decided that no action will be taken against him.
This is despite claims from supporters of Idris Jusoh that Mr Abdullah was being ungrateful towards the former chief minister who managed to retain two-thirds majority in the state despite a tough election.
Muhammad Muhd Taib, UMNO Information Chief, said, "We need to look at big picture then the small picture, it's better to be ungrateful this way than having Agong dissolve the state assembly and have a state general election, and losing the whole state, which is more ungrateful.''
Although the standoff with the Terengganu royal household has been resolved, analysts said Mr Abdullah's headaches are far from over with possible leadership challenge and infighting plaguing the party ahead of the internal polls this December. - CNA/ms
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