Two weeks after the 14th general election, and it is still guesswork who BN's Perlis menteri besar will be.

The crisis over naming the coalition's menteri besar started when state BN chief Shahidan Kassim named his younger brother, Tambun Tulang assemblyperson Ismail Kassim for the post after BN won the state.

However, incumbent Perlis menteri besar Azlan Man claimed he was unaware and not informed of the decision.

It appears to be a repeat of the 12th general election in 2008, when Perlis BN also took two weeks to settle its menteri besar.

At the time, Shahidan was replaced by Isa Sabu as menteri besar.

All the other states have formed their respective administration and have started work, except for the northern-most state.

Following the deadlock, Perlis Sultan Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail summoned all 10 BN assemblypersons to his palace at Istana Arau last Monday, but it is unclear what had transpired.

Both Shahidan and Azlan have remained tight-lipped.

Malaysiakini contacted both Shahidan and Azlan last week and are still awaiting their response.

However, rumours are rife that efforts are underway from both sides to lobby support, even from state opposition assemblypersons.

BN won 10 out of 15 state seats it contested. PKR and PAS won a total of 5, the opposition's best result in 60 years.

No qualified candidate?

PKR Perlis chief Mohammad Fisol Abdul Rahman, when contacted, told Malaysiakini that BN needs to settle the matter quickly and put up the menteri besar candidates' names to the sultan.

“We hope the process will take place swiftly. The federal cabinet has already been sworn in, and all the other states have started doing so too.

“We hope Perlis gets moving immediately,” he said.

Mohammad Fisol said it looked as if there were no qualified candidates from BN's line-up of assemblypersons to head the state government.

“To the point, it has caused the sultan to find it hard to determine who is qualified,” he said.

He added Shahidan nominating his brother has caused unease in the palace, causing the naming of the menteri besar to be delayed.

Mohammad Fisol said personally, he felt Azlan was a more suitable candidate than Ismail.

However, he noted there are others who should be considered, for example, Santan assemblyperson Azizan Sulaiman.