Fakhrul said PAS remained in his heart and that withdrawing support for Shukri was necessary as he was weakening the Islamic party, Berita Harian reported.

“Our actions are right in our eyes and wrong to those who hold differing views. But what I can say confidently is that (Shukri) has weakened PAS’s position in Perlis. He must be changed,” he said.

Fakhrul, Saad Seman (Chuping) and Ridzuan Hashim (Guar Sanji) had their PAS memberships terminated for joining five Bersatu assemblymen in withdrawing support for Shukri.

Earlier today, Perlis assembly speaker Rus’sele Eizan announced that their seats had been vacated following their termination as PAS members.

He added that the trio was not sacked from PAS but had their memberships “terminated” for going against the party line, therefore triggering the state’s anti-hopping law.

Perikatan Nasional held 14 of the 15 seats in the Perlis assembly, of which PAS had nine and Bersatu five, while PKR held the remaining one.

Losing the support of eight assemblymen would have meant Shukri had lost his majority support in the Perlis state assembly.

However, today’s vacating of the three assemblymen’s seats has thrown the matter into limbo.