| After days of uncertainty and massive speculations of a sea of change in Perlis, the state BN today announced its list of candidates which did not contain any major changes, bar for one.
Incumbents Radzi Sheikh Ahmad and Azmi Khalid will be defending the Kangar and Padang Besar Parliament seats.
And their arch-rival Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim will do the same at his Tambun Tulang state seat.
One major change is the dropping of Syed Razlan Putra Jamalullail from the Arau parliamentary seat. He will instead contest at the Pauh state seat.
Of the nine new faces introduced in the state, perhaps the one which will attract the most attention is Senator Ismail Kassim, who is Shahidan’s brother. He will be taking over the Arau parliamentary seat.  However three hours after the initial announcement, Shahidan dropped another shocker by announcing that he was withdrawing his brother from contesting in Arau.
Ismail is now replaced by the state’s women wing chief Mastika Junaidah.
Succession plan
It is believed that the warring factions in Perlis - with MPs Radzi and Azmi in one camp and Shahidan and his supporters in another - have come to an understanding in Putrajaya yesterday.
Although details are sketchy at the moment, it is believed that Shahidan would be stepping down in two years' time and to be replaced by neutral candidate Syed Razlan.
The seat for Shahidan’s brother - as in the first announcement - is said to be part of this deal. Earlier in the morning, both Radzi and Azmi were not present when Shahidan announced the list of candidates.
The seven new faces making their electoral debut in Perlis are Yip Sim Onn (Titi Tinggi), Mat Rawi Kassim (Beseri), Jamil Saad (Sena), Dr Por Choo Chor (Indera Kayangan), Mat Hassan (Kuala Perlis), Ahmad Bakri Ali (Kayang) and Abdullah Hassan (Sanglang).
Apart from Shahidan, the six other incumbents are retained. They being Mansor Jusoh (Chuping), Khairi Hassan (Mata Ayer), Sabry Ahmad (Santan), Jafperi Othman (Guar Sanji) and Zahari Bakar (Simpang Empat).
There is one lone opposition seat in Perlis - the state seat of Salang, which was won by PAS in the last general election.
Tomorrow potential contestants will officially file their nomination papers at selected Election Commission centres between 9 and 10am. This will kick off the 13-day campaign which will end with polling on March 8. | 
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