is a member of the legislative assembly who can command a majority on the assembly's floor. The Raja's appointment powers were at the centre of a brief constitutional crisis in the state after the 2008 general election. The Raja sought to appoint a Barisan Nasional assemblyman, Md Isa Sabu, as chief Minister despite Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who led the national coalition, nominating the incumbent Shahidan Kassim to continue in office. The Raja prevailed, and swore in Md Isa, who proceeded to serve a full term as chief minister. The state elects three members of the federal House of Representatives, for the constituencies of Arau, Kangar and Padang Besar. After the 2022 general election, all three seats are held by Perikatan Nasional. The state also has two federal senators; like all other states, the senators are not directly elected but appointed by a vote of the state legislative assembly. Perlis, being the smallest state by area in Malaysia, is not divided into administrative districts. Nevertheless, it is still divided into several mukims (communes), namely: Abi Arau Beseri Chuping Jejawi Kaki Bukit Kayang Kechor Kuala Perlis Kurong Anai Kurong Batang Ngulang Oran Padang Pauh Paya Padang Siding Sanglang Sena Seriab Sungai Adam Titi Tinggi (Padang Besar) Utan Aji; and Wang Bintong Demographics The ethnic composition for the year 2000 in Perlis was: Malay (174,805 or 79.74%), Chinese (21,058 or 9.6%), Indian (2,658 or 1.21%) and others (20,690 or 9.45%). Religion As of 2010 the population of Perlis is 87.9% Muslim, 10.0% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0.6% Christian, 0.2% Taoist or Chinese religion followers, 0.2% non-religious, 0.2% unknown / none, and 0.1% followers of other religions. The Malaysian constitution strictly defines what makes a "Malay", considering Malays those who are Muslim, speak Malay regularly, practise Malay customs, and lived in or have ancestors from Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore. Statistics from the 2010 Census indicate that 83.6% of the Chinese population identify as Buddhist, with significant numbers of adherents following Taoism (3.4%) and Christianity (11.1%), along with small Hui-Muslim populations in areas like Penang. The majority of the Indian population follow Hinduism (86.2%), with a significant minority identifying as Christians (6.0%) or Muslims (4.1%). Christianity is the predominant religion of the non-Malay bumiputera community (46.5%) with an additional 40.4% identifying as Muslims. Languages Majority of Perlis' population speaks Perlis Malay which is a sub-dialect of Kedah Malay but also has its own unique features