Shahidan's fall set stage Perlis to PAS in next election~!

refer to www.themalaysianinsider.com

KANGAR, March 18 – Former Perlis menteri besar Shahidan Kassim spurned the swearing-in ceremony of his rival, Dr Md Isa Sabu, as the new menteri besar yesterday, signaling more trouble for Umno in the next election in Perlis. This is because Shahidan is seen even by the Opposition itself as a very strong presence on the ground, with his wife as a major asset, for their common touch.The tussle in Perlis stands out in stark comparison to events in Penang, where outgoing Gerakan Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon handed over the reins of administration smoothly to the new incoming Democratic Action Party boss Lim Guan Eng, and even called upon the federal government to continue with the the federal mega-projects for the state, instead of punishing Penang for voting in the Opposition as some have said should be done.
Dr Md Isa Sabu today took the oath of office as the 6th menteri besar of Perlis at the Istana Arau here, ending a week-long tussle for the post with Shahidan, which saw both groups practically camped out in Kuala Lumpur, lobbying the Prime Minister-elect Abdullah Badawi.
Md Isa said he had the support of 8 BN state assemblymen, a majority of the 15 state assemblymen.
Perlis has 14 BN and one PAS assemblyman. The PAS assemblyman is Russeli Eizan, the elected representative for Simpang Empat.
The Malaysian Insider has learnt that even the sole PAS assemblyman was in favour of Md Isa, and this is believed to be because PAS believes Shahidan is the stronger man on the ground.
Md Isa took his oath of office at 5.30pm before the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, in a ceremony witnessed by the Raja Muda of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Jamalullail.
Except for Shahidan, the rest of the 15 Perlis state assemblymen were present at the ceremony.
After the ceremony, Md Isa told reporters he hoped that the issue of who was more eligible to be the menteri besar would not come up again.
Md Isa had received the instrument of appointment from the Raja of Perlis last Friday but Shahidan claimed that he had the letter of recommendation from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to be appointed the menteri besar.
This resulted in Md Isa, Shahidan and several other Perlis state assemblymen shuttling between Kangar and Putrajaya as well as Kuala Lumpur to meet with Abdullah and the Raja of Perlis separately to resolve the impasse.
Md Isa said he hoped that the people of Perlis, regardless of political affiliation, would come together as one to help develop the state.
Replying to a question, Md Isa said he preferred to stay in his own “simple house” in Taman Guru Jaya here instead of moving to the chief minister’s official residence vacated by Shahidan.
It was reported, however, that Shahidan was moving out of residence yesterday, with moving trucks seen even as late as 1.30 am last night. Shahidan himself could not be reached by the media for comment