He said the candidate appointed as menteri besar must be able to implement the planned development projects now that Perlis had become an opposition state following Barisan Nasional’s defeat by Pakatan Harapan (PH) in last week’s election.

“The decision I will make will be in the name of the people,” he said at an event at Alwi Mosque here last night.

BN won 10 out of 15 seats in the Perlis legislative assembly, retaining power in the state. The menteri besar before the May 9 election was Azlan Man.

Perlis Umno liaison committee chairman Shahidan Kassim was reported to have submitted several names to Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin two days ago, including his younger brother Ismail Kassim.

Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin acknowledged that the names had been brought to him but said he had not made a decision as he did not know the candidates.

“The winning party should have brought the candidates to be presented to me but this did not take place,” he added.

He advised the people to be patient, reminding them of events in 2008 when the appointment of the menteri besar had taken two weeks.

He also expressed hope that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not marginalise Perlis as an opposition state, and congratulated PH on winning the May 9 election.