He said today he had submitted his application form after Kedah Pakatan Harapan urged him to join the party. It is understood that Ismail will probably join the Pokok Sena PKR branch.
After the general election in May, Ismail, younger brother of Perlis Umno chief Shahidan Kassim, had been nominated as a candidate to be Perlis menteri besar, but Azlan Man was appointed for a second term, sparking a standoff between the palace and Barisan Nasional.
Ismail, who is Tambun Tulang assemblyman, left Umno and BN last month, citing a loss of confidence in its leaders.
He was reported to be initially interested in signing up with PPBM, led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad.He said today that he was attracted to PKR instead because of the cooperation between the veteran leaders and new faces in the party, adding he was friends with some of them, including Kedah PKR chief Dr Azman Ismail and Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul.
He opted to join Kedah PKR because he did not see a lot of competition in the party.
“I also feel I would not be a threat to anyone or would be a factor in impeding their progress in the party.”
He was not keen on PPBM as there were similarities between PPBM Perlis and his old party. “If I wanted to join a party like Umno, I would have just joined Umno where I would even have a post,” he told FMT today.
Ironically, Perlis PPBM chief Amier Hassan had in June said the party was not keen on accepting former Umno members such as Ismail, adding it did not want to import former Umno leaders for fear that they would taint the party.