KANGAR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - All nine Barisan Nasional (BN) state assemblymen have finally agreed to the appointment of Datuk Seri Azlan Man as Perlis Menteri Besar, resolving a three-week leadership crisis in Malaysia's smallest state.

The Menteri Besar, or chief minister, will now pick his state Cabinet and the members will be sworn in before the Muslim festival of Hari Raya on Friday next week.

A state assemblyman, Ms Asmaiza Ahmad, said Perlis Umno's chief Shahidan Kassim, who was dead set against Mr Azlan's appointment, has dropped his opposition.

BN won 10 of the 15 state assembly seats in the May 9 general election, and Mr Azlan was picked by the Perlis ruler to again lead the state that shares the border with Thailand.

But Tan Sri Shahidan, an MP, opposed the move and suggested his younger brother, state assemblyman Ismail Kassim, as the new menteri besar.

The nine rebel assemblymen did not attend Mr Azlan's swearing-in at Istana Arau on May 24, earning a rebuke from the ruler.

But the nine state lawmakers have now turned around to back Mr Azlan.

"This decision was reached unanimously before we had an audience with the Raja of Perlis" Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail on Sunday, she said.

"We respect Tuanku's decision... we will never look back," she told reporters after attending an event on Tuesday (June 5).

Central BN leaders did not intervene openly during the crisis, as the coalition is still in disarray after shockingly losing the general election.

BN only retains Perlis, Pahang and Sarawak after the polls.

It lost the other eight Malaysian states to the Pakatan Harapan-Parti Warisan alliance, and two to Parti Islam SeMalaysia.