"It's pure appeasement," said a political observer.

It comes just after Najib appeared to vacillate in his commitment to the transition plan. On Tuesday, he launched his own website, www.1Malaysia.com.my, seen as an attempt to reach out to an increasingly Internet-savvy electorate.

Last week, he said it was for the Umno grassroots to decide whether to accept the plan. This had the effect of opening the floodgates, as it was quickly echoed by several other top leaders and divisions.

It was as good a signal as any that Najib is willing to be nominated for the top Umno post in the party elections in December. A contender for the presidency needs 58 of the 191 divisions to nominate him.

Abdullah, who is under pressure to resign, needs the support of Najib to secure the nominations. This Cabinet promotion is to appease Najib and his supporters. But don't think for a minute that this will be the last word on Malaysian politics. Indeed, it could open the way to even more politicking.

Significantly yesterday, Najib did not close the door to running for the post of party president, who is traditionally also the prime minister of Malaysia.

Asked point-blank if he will refuse nominations, he did not unequivocally say that he will not.

He said: "We have already agreed to it. We are leaving it to the party. We are offering ourselves, we hope the party will accept it."

It was a coded message which Umno divisions will have no trouble decoding. In Umno speak, he's saying the door is not completely closed.

A big question mark now hangs over the reaction of these all-powerful divisions. It is up to the divisions, which start holding their meetings for a month from Oct 9, to read the situation and make their choices known.

If Najib secures the 58 nominations, it is unlikely that he will decline them. He can then expect to enter the fray, perhaps with International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in tow.

Muhyiddin has already broken ranks and openly asked for Abdullah to retire before 2010.

The PM is in a weak position, under siege by opposition leader Anwar who is demanding a handover of power after claiming that he has enough defectors to topple the government.

Further, a series of mishandling of crises, including the much-criticised Internal Security Act arrests last week, has left Abdullah looking more and more like a weak leader. One of his ministers resigned over the arrests.

A further blow came yesterday when a small Sabah component, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), pulled out of the BN. It is staying independent.

This left the BN with just 138 MPs in Parliament, after losing the two from SAPP. From needing 31 MPs just hours ago, Anwar now needs only 29 to outnumber the BN. He has 81 with him.

Abdullah's hold on power is becoming increasingly tenuous by the day. The attempt to tie Najib to the transition plan indicates he knows as much. There are views that Najib may not actually be in a strengthened position as it has yet to be seen if there will be behind-the-scenes efforts to stymie his management of the country's finances.

It is also unclear if it was in his best interests to give up control of the Defence portfolio, and control over the machinery that includes considerable intelligence and military power. But if the move is intended to strengthen Abdullah, it also sends the unmistakable signal that he is becoming increasingly weak. — Straits Times Singapore