Azmin is a trusted confidante of Mahathir but his relationship with Anwar – who was once his mentor – has grown increasingly fraught since last May’s election.

Anwar fired a salvo on Wednesday when he said Azmin should resign if the authorities confirmed he was one of the two men in the video clips, an about-turn from his stance last month that there was no need for the minister to step down.

“If the investigations are conclusive, then he needs to resign, but if we have not ascertained the truth of the two guys in the video then he [Azmin] has the option,” Anwar told reporters at the Parliament building, according to The Star.

Asked about Farhash, Anwar said while he was surprised by the detention of his political secretary, he fully supported police investigations.

Azmin, also speaking to reporters in the legislature on Wednesday, offered a short rejoinder to Anwar’s comments: “Read my lips... tell him [Anwar] he must look at the man in the mirror.”

Mahathir meanwhile said it was up to political leaders whether they wanted to go on leave while under investigation for wrongdoing. “You are not guilty until proven,” he said.

A senior member of PKR told This Week in Asia that Farhash’s arrest could accelerate a public showdown between Anwar and Azmin, deepening the rift within the party.

“There will be questions of whether [Anwar] is guilty by association because of the arrest [of Farhash],” the PKR member said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Out on the street, that’s what people are asking: was Anwar behind the videos?”

Haziq had previously suggested Azmin secretly taped what he claims were secret trysts in a hotel in the Malaysian state of Sabah.

Azmin’s aides said he had complied fully with police investigations so far. They said they trust he has no links to the video and their current slogan is “kekal tenang” – which means “stay calm”.

Anwar has denied any involvement but on Tuesday said Malaysians wanted to know if the video was genuine and who was behind it. He has publicly offered his support to Azmin.

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Nonetheless, the party insider said there had been a complete breakdown of communication between the two men, with Azmin largely avoiding PKR leadership meetings chaired by Anwar.

Azmin secured his position last year after a bruising battle with Rafizi Ramli, a senior party figure widely viewed as loyal to Anwar. Following the internal vote, members of the two main factions – one loyal to Azmin, the other to Anwar – have taken up key positions.

Saifuddin Nasution, an Anwar loyalist who is PKR’s secretary general overseeing its daily operations, said in a statement that the party had no intentions of interfering in ongoing police investigations. The domestic trade and consumer affairs minister however urged authorities to be transparent, and added the party would take action against members found to be contravening its constitution.

A spokesman for Anwar did not respond to a request for comment.

Political scientist Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the latest episode was “finally a chance for Anwar as president of PKR to face off with Azmin in the open” after a long period of “subtle confrontation through proxies”.

The University of Malaya professor said he believed the standoff surrounding the scandal was unlikely to result in a major intra-party standoff if Azmin was found by investigators to be one of the two people in the video clips.

In such a scenario, Awang Azman said Azmin was unlikely to take a confrontational stance but added there may be a likelihood of Mahathir intervening to stop the economic affairs minister from going on leave or tendering his resignation.

But if Azmin was cleared of wrongdoing by the police, the professor said he envisioned a “big fight” in PKR that would rock not only the multiracial party but the entire Pakatan Harapan coalition.

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