“After one-and-a-half years observing and weighing my options, I finally made my decision to join Bersatu,” he said, according to the New Straits Times.

He said he had wanted to wait for an official announcement from PPBM before he broke the news. “It is not a decision which I made overnight. I thought of it for almost a year-and-half, after not being in any political parties,” he was quoted as saying.

Ismail, 59, was a central figure in a dispute between Perlis state assembly members and the Raja of Perlis, over the appointment of a menteri besar after the 2018 general election.

Nine Barisan Nasional state assembly members were absent from the swearing-in of Azlan Man for a second term. The Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail, had said he chose Azlan because he did not want a puppet as menteri besar.

“The other candidate (Ismail, nominated by BN) is someone who has a very close relationship with the Perlis Umno Liaison Committee chairman…When I met with all BN assemblymen, I found out from their replies that the elected representatives were more submissive to the state Umno liaison committee chief than the federal leaders. It is like there is a grip…” Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin said then.

Ismail joined Umno some 30 years ago. He left in June last year and served as independent state assembly member for Tambun Tulang. “My service to my constituents was affected because I was working all alone,” he said. “It is different when you represent a party and when you do things on your own.”