This was because the assemblymen had not withdrawn their support for the state government but only switched party affiliation, he said.

“As long as the government has sufficient seats, there will be no effect as we still have 36 seats in support of the (state) government.”

Saarani said this at a media conference after attending an event for a road upgrading project here. Also present was youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

The three assemblymen who joined PBM were A Sivasubramaniam (Buntong), Paul Yong (Tronoh) and Leong Cheok Keng (Malim Nawar).

Leong was reported to have confirmed that the three of them still supported the Saarani-led government, in line with PBM president Larry Sng’s decision that the party would support Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

In the party elections on Saturday, Sivasubramaniam was elected PBM senior vice-president II while Yong was appointed treasurer-general.

Meanwhile, Faizal said he could not reach Sivasubramaniam or Yong, who were previously associate members of Bersatu, to confirm the matter.

“I sent messages to (the) both of them to clarify the matter but have not received replies.

“Therefore, I cannot confirm … but it is okay because the Perak state government is still intact. That is the most important thing.

“I believe the menteri besar will focus on the people’s problems and we will help and give full support to the state government under his leadership.

“We are confident that the current administration is running very well.”

Saarani currently has the support of 36 assemblymen, with Barisan Nasional having 25 seats followed by Bersatu (4), PAS and PBM (3 seats each) and an independent (1). The Perak assembly has a total of 59 members.

Earlier, Saarani said the project to upgrade a 5.2km stretch of Jalan Tambun would cost RM16.35 million. The project, which began on April 1 last year, is expected to be completed in September.