Menteri besar Abu Bakar Hamzah said PAS had requested coordinators for the constituencies formerly held by the party’s assemblymen before their memberships were terminated, Berita Harian reported.

He said PAS had nominated former menteri besar Shukri Ramli for Guar Sanji, Santan assemblyman Azmir Azizan for Chuping, and Kayang assemblyman Asrul Aimran Abd Jalil for Bintong.

However, Abu Bakar, of Bersatu, said a state exco meeting had decided to appoint village chiefs instead to prevent disputes and maintain political stability.

“The appointment of village chiefs is a temporary measure, with each area managed by the menteri besar’s political secretary until the courts decide whether the three former assemblymen’s seats are officially vacant,” he was quoted as saying.

Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji), Fakhrul Anwar Ismail (Bintong) and Saad Seman (Chuping) had filed a judicial review against Perlis assembly speaker Rus’sele Eizan at the High Court in Kangar after their seats were declared vacant.

PAS had terminated their memberships earlier following allegations that they had withdrawn support for Shukri, who was the menteri besar then.

Rus’sele submitted notices of vacancy for the three seats to the Election Commission on Dec 29, but the EC said no by-elections would be held after the assembly withdrew the notices on Dec 31.

Rus’sele also reportedly said the seats will remain vacant until the 16th general election, taking into account PAS’s assurances to maintain the stability of the state government.