Kuala Lumpur - More than 2,500 delegates from Malaysia's ruling party gathered Tuesday to kick off the annual congress which will see a historic change of guard in its leadership.

The meeting of United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO, was initially scheduled for November, but was postponed due to political uncertainties after the party led the ruling National Front coalition through a humiliating election in March.

The five-day gathering, which will end Saturday, will see the election of top leaders including president, deputy president, three vice presidents, 25 supreme council members and heads of the party's youth and women's wings.

The party fell into crisis when the government suffered massive losses in last year's general elections. A three-party opposition led by former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim took control of five out of the country's 13 states, and denied the Front a two-thirds' majority in parliament.

Following those results, many top UMNO leaders demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also the party president.

Abdullah finally announced he would not seek re-election as party chief, and would hand over his premiership to deputy prime minister Najib Razak.

No date has been set for the handover, but reports have said it could be as early as April 2 or 3.

Najib, the son of a former prime minister, has acknowledged that he is taking over the party and the country in a "critical" time, when public opinion of both UMNO and the ruling coalition is at an all-time low.

Najib was due to officially open the conference Tuesday.

Long criticized as a racist and corrupt party, UMNO will likely replace most of the veteran leaders with fresh faces, a move hoped to restore public confidence. (dpa)