A Aziz Azizam of Universiti Teknologi Mara said the challenge for newly-minted menteri besar Abu Bakar Hamzah would be to win back the Islamic party’s trust.

“The bond and solidarity in Perikatan Nasional (PN), especially between PAS and Bersatu, remains a question mark and one that the public will be scrutinising.

“The public is keen to know whether this conflict will be resolved in a gentlemanly manner or if it will be prolonged,” he told FMT.

Abu Bakar, the Perlis Bersatu chief, was sworn in as menteri besar yesterday, replacing Sanglang assemblyman Shukri Ramli from PAS who resigned due to health reasons last Thursday.

His appointment was followed by a series of social media posts by PAS leaders.

PAS treasurer Iskandar Abdul Samad said the party now knew “their true colours” and that “betrayal must not go unpunished”, adding that he would leave the interpretation of his post to the public.

Several other PAS leaders also posted messages with themes of friendship, but did not directly link them to the developments in Perlis or their relations with Bersatu.

Abu Bakar’s appointment came amid a political crisis in the state, which saw eight PN assemblymen reportedly submitting statutory declarations (SDs) to the ruler to withdraw their support for Shukri, including three from PAS whose memberships have since been terminated.

The five Bersatu assemblymen who also reportedly submitted SDs were Abu Bakar, Izizam Ibrahim (Titi Tinggi), Megat Hashirat Hassan (Pauh), Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak (Tambun Tulang) and Marzita Mansor (Sena).

Tawfik Yaakub of Universiti Malaya said PAS should review its role in PN, and suggested a revival of Muafakat Nasional, the political pact it forged with Umno in 2019.

He said Bersatu relied heavily on PAS in by-elections and general elections.

“Yet, not only has PAS lost three seats in Perlis, it no longer helms the state government,” he added.