Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah sworn in as Perlis MB, succeeding Mohd Shukri Ramli after three PAS seats declared vacant.
ARAU: Kuala Perlis assemblyman Abu Bakar Hamzah was sworn in as the new Menteri Besar of Perlis at Istana Arau today.
The 57-year-old took his oath of office before the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, at 4.04 pm.
Abu Bakar is the Perlis Perikatan Nasional deputy chairman and State Bersatu Chief.
He succeeds Mohd Shukri Ramli, who stepped down from his post on Thursday due to health reasons.
Abu Bakar won the Kuala Perlis seat in the 15th General Election with a majority of 1,254 votes.
He was appointed to the state executive council following a reshuffle in November last year.
In that reshuffle, he was entrusted with the Tourism, Arts and Culture as well as Rural Development portfolios.
Although the swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for 1 pm, it was delayed until the late afternoon.
Police personnel were stationed at the main entrance of the palace and at several junctions along the main routes.
On Thursday, Perlis State Assembly Speaker Rus’sele Eizan announced unexpected vacancies for the Chuping, Bintong and Guar Sanji seats.
The vacancies arose after PAS announced it had terminated the membership of three of its assemblymen.
The three are Saad Seman (Chuping), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong) and Mohd Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji).
Their membership was terminated following their alleged move to withdraw support for Mohd Shukri.
In the 15th General Election, Perikatan Nasional Perlis won 14 of the 15 state assembly seats.
PAS secured nine seats and Bersatu five, while Pakatan Harapan, through PKR, won the remaining seat.
