KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (AFP) - A Malaysian prince who almost toppled Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad 13 years ago may still challenge the premier or his preferred successor in May ruling party elections despite saying he has "no plans" to do so, analysts believe.

Mahathir and other senior leaders of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) welcomed last week's comments by Tengku (Prince) Razaleigh Hamzah but analysts and politicians said his remarks were ambiguous.

The three-yearly leadership elections for the party, which has dominated politics since independence in 1957, are sometimes seen as more important than general elections since they also decide the nation's leadership.

The president and deputy president of UMNO are automatically premier and deputy premier. The polls assume added importance this year since Mahathir, 74, has said this is his last term in office.

Despite his "no plans" statement Razaleigh appears to be keeping his options open.

"Maybe I'm no longer needed any more. Probably that's why there is no support but if members have plans (to nominate), I'll see first," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency on his return Thursday to his northeastern home state of Kelantan, where he is UMNO liaison chairman.

In a statement in Sunday's newspapers, Razaleigh, a 62-year-old former finance minister, also fuelled speculation.

He called for a secret ballot when UMNO divisions meet next month to nominate candidates for party posts, to avoid "threats or bribery."The Star said his statement "is bound to cause ripples in UMNO and raise the question of whether the Kelantan prince intends to contest in the May election."

UMNO's Supreme Council chaired by Mahathir on January 3 recommended the premier and his preferred successor -- Deputy Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi -- be nominated unchallenged as party president and deputy president on May 11.

The expressed aim was to preserve unity after the November 29 general election setback for UMNO, which lost 22 seats. But it stirred dissent among grassroots members.

Abdullah became deputy premier after Mahathir sacked Anwar Ibrahim but needs the deputy party presidency to bolster his position as likely successor.

Bruce Gale, a Singapore-based analyst with the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, said Razaleigh's "no plans" statement should be taken "with a grain of salt."

"He may be still testing the waters and seeing how much support he can gather," said Gale.

Razaleigh, he said, had mounted a challenge before and came close to success. He also had nothing to lose since he had not been offered a cabinet post after the election.

"He probably blames Mahathir for the election result -- if not there are a lot of people in UMNO who read the situation that way. There is a lot of discontent in UMNO looking for a means of expression," Gale told AFP.

Razaleigh lost to Mahathir by just 43 votes in bitter UMNO elections in 1987. He formed a breakaway party named Semangat 46, only to dissolve it in 1996 and return to the UMNO fold.

Razaleigh would need nominations from 50 of UMNO's 165 divisions next month to stand against Mahathir for the presidency and nominations from 33 to vie with Abdullah for the deputy presidency. He was unavailable for comment.Gale said Razaleigh would want to ensure he could win enough support for a challenge, "otherwise he would look pretty silly."

"Why show his hand too early?"

Ibrahim Ali, an UMNO supreme council member, said it was unfair to push Razaleigh to say whether he would contest before divisions meet.

Ibrahim told AFP he himself would abide by the Supreme Council's "no contest" advice but was upset that people had interpreted Razaleigh's remarks as meaning he would not contest.

"The bottom line is that it is up to UMNO members to decide. He is being honest in his remarks (to keep options open)," Ibrahim said.

But Zainal Rampak, a member of the senate (upper house), said Razaleigh's statements had created confusion among UMNO members. Zainal said members had the right to decide whether or not to contest posts but should not send out confusing signals.

"I think he (Razaleigh) should come out firm and clear to state that he will or he will not contest."

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