Kuala Lumpur  - Malaysia's political state of affairs seems set for turbulent times, judging from the gaggle of controversies ahead of the upcoming party elections of the country's main political group, the United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO.

The annual polls for UMNO, which is the largest and most powerful party in the governing National Front coalition, are always watched closely as the elected party heads will ultimately become goverment leaders.

The three-day assembly kicks off Tuesday with elections for the party's women and youth wing, but the real focus lies on Thursday's event, where party president and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is due to step down and make way for his deputy Najib Razak in an uncontested leadership takeover.

The president of UMNO typically becomes the country's premier, meaning Najib is set to become the country's sixth prime minister.

Abdullah's retirement was practically forced, after party members and coalition partners questioned his leadership abilities in the wake of the Front's unprecedented losses to a three-party opposition alliance in elections held last March.

The election, the Front's worst-ever performance in the country's 51-year history, saw the opposition seize one third of the seats in Parliament and take control of five of Malaysia's 13 states.

Following mounting criticism, Abdullah announced he would not run for another term as UMNO president and premier.

Abdullah has yet to announce the actual date of handing over the premiership, but local media have quoted sources as saying it could be as early as April 3.

While the prospect of Najib taking over was initially well-received, recent events appear to have reinforced a sense of apprehension about Najib's leadership style and the effect his premiership will have on the country's future, both politically and economically.

In February, Najib led the government to effectively take over the opposition-ruled northern state of Perak through lawmaker defections.

The manner of the takeover was criticized as undemocratic and under-handed, and made more controversial after the opposition's request for a state election to determine the people's choice of government was rejected by Perak's royal ruler.

Najib's involvement in the affair appears to set a benchmark for the kind of politics the son of one of Malaysia's former prime ministers is to employ when he himself becomes premier, analysts said.

"The crisis of credibility in democratic institutions will only undermine public confidence in the (National Front) and Najib's ability to govern effectively," political commentator Anil Netto said.

Last week, an opposition lawmaker was forced to leave Parliament and was suspended for a year after he demanded Najib to answer to allegations of his possible involvement in the gruesome murder of a Mongolian woman in 2006.

Najib's political advisor and friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, was charged with the murder but was acquitted last year. However, critics say many unanswered links between the victim and Najib have gone uninvestigated.

Najib's popularity rating currently stands at just 41 per cent, according to independent pollster Merdeka Centre. The figure is embarrassing, taking into consideration the 46-per-cent rating enjoyed by outgoing Abdullah.

Lim Kit Siang, veteran leader of the opposition Democractic Action Party, said Najib has been "sufficiently dogged, hounded and haunted by grave doubts and allegations about his integrity and legitimacy."

"Recent happenings leading up to Najib's impending ascension cast a dark cloud over his leadership, and mark what could be a dark era for Malaysia," said Lim.

Najib failed to raise his popularity and show his ability to lead the country out of an increasingly serious economic crisis, when a whopping 60-billion-ringgit (16.1-billion-dollar) stimulus package announced earlier this month failed to impress.

Economists and critics say the package, which has raised the country's fiscal deficit to a projected 7.6 per cent of the gross domestic product from 4.8 per cent last year, is unlikely to do much to boost Malaysia's ailing economy.

However, despite the looming sense of uncertainty, several analysts said Najib deserves some time to prove his worth, but first on his list of priorities must be to clear his name of any scandals and controversies.

"Najib could still lead Malaysia out of its current doldrums and on to greater heights," prominent political observer M Bakri Musa said on his blog.

"To achieve that, he must address two critical issues, one relating to his personal integrity and the other his leadership," he wrote.

As the whole country watches closely watches the UMNO polls and the following premiership handover, Najib will have to prove that he is fit to run a country weighed down by political and economic disarray.

"He's a man carrying a lot of excess baggage into office," said blogger and political commentator James Tan.

"Not everything said about him may be true, but if even some of it is, that's very troubling.

"And what this country doesn't need right now is a man with a past that may come back and hit us." (dpa)