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He and Kadar feel that "there is enough prima facie evidence to make the leadership outcome of these elections suspect and this would damage the legitimacy of any government formed on the basis of these ".

Mazlan, a Selangor veteran leader and son of former Selangor mentri besar the late Datuk Harun Idris, and Muar branch leader Kadar, the son of the late Umno permanent chairman Tun Sulaiman Ninam Shah, lodged two reports with the Kuala Lumpur Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) office on Aug 5 and Sept 4 last year.

The reports were lodged against both party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, for allegedly abusing their powers and alleged involvement in money politics.

"To date, there has been no action on either report. There has also not been any apparent action on the more than 1,000 reports of political graft and other abuses sent to Umno’s disciplinary committee, as acknowledged by its chairman, Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen," the duo said in a joint statement.

They said they were extremely disappointed that neither MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) nor the disciplinary board "seem to have investigated these allegations with any urgency or seriousness".

Mazlan and Kadar also expressed disappointment over Abdullah’s recent remark that the MACC had closed its investigations on all reports regarding money politics in the party as it had found no evidence.

"How can he come to this conclusion when neither one of us have been called by MACC or the disciplinary board for our statements about the reports we made. In fact, our reports were not even acknowledged," Kadar said.

Asked how he knew the reports had not been acknowledged, he said neither he nor Mazlan had been called in to assist in an investigation.

"We met the secretary-general and showed him evidence but he blamed us. In fact, the disciplinary board said our allegations are fitnah (lies)," Kadar alleged.

Mazlan and Kadar supported secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor’s statement on Sunday said that the party wants the MACC to investigate all allegations and charge anyone involved in money politics before the general assembly on March 24.

According to the Umno constitution, any member who takes party issues to court may be suspended. Asked about this, Mazlan said" "We’ve not reached the stage to take action yet. We are only urging the party to take this matter seriously. We’re ready to face any action taken."

Asked why they waited this long before coming out with their statement, he said" "There is a reluctance in the part of the leadership. So, this forces us to take a formal stand, which we are entitled to as citizens."

The duo emphasised that their move was not an attempt to stop the transition of power from Abdullah to Najib.

"Our intention is not to stop the transition of power. That can happen any time. We want to save the party. As long as the party is weak, the government is weak," Mazlan said.