KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim questioned today PAS’s insistence on adding a man to its candidate list for the Selangor mentri besar post, asking if the Islamist party rejected Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail’s nomination because the PKR president is a woman.

The de facto Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leader stressed that PAS had agreed on nominating a single candidate to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor mentri besar at the pact’s last leadership council meeting on August 17.

“The understanding between the parties in Pakatan is the candidate for the mentri besar’s post is from PKR and PKR’s decision should be respected,” he told reporters at the Jalan Duta Court Complex.

Anwar, however, appealed to PAS to reconsider its decision, warning that it may set a precedent for future disagreements.

“How do we prevent a crack from appearing in PR if this happens?

In the earlier stages of the protracted leadership crisis, PAS had refused to endorse Dr Wan Azizah as mentri besar.

While no reasons were offered for the rejection, detractors have accused the Islamist party of discriminating Dr Wan Azizah for her gender.

At the PR presidential council meeting on August 17, all PR three parties had agreed on Dr Wan Azizah’s sole nomination but prior to the meeting PAS had suggested proposing both Dr Wan Azizah and PKR deputy president Azmin Ali for the top government post in Selangor.

“This is first time in the history of PR there is no consensus on nominating a single candidate even after it was decided at the leadership council on August 17,” he pointed out.

Anwar urged the Islamist party to “accept” Dr Wan Azizah’s nomination “based on the collective decision of the PR leadership”.

“Otherwise this would be beginning — or perceived — major difference or inability to reach a consensus and a breach of that understanding we have achieved thus far,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Selangor state ruler demanded that PR provides more than two names for the mentri besar post, citing the convention during previous appointments.

In a statement, the palace also said that Khalid’s resignation as mentri besar has been postponed until the new appointment in made.

Subsequent to the state ruler’s decree, PKR and the DAP insisted on presenting only Dr Wan Azizah as Khalid’s replacement.

The two parties said that Dr Wan Azizah already commands majority support in the 56-seat Selangor legislative assembly as 30 assemblymen — all 28 from DAP and PKR, and two from PAS — have signed statutory declarations in support of her as the new MB.

But PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali asserted the party’s position last night, following a meeting with its state-level leaders, that the party will nominate two assemblymen from PKR for the post of Selangor mentri besar and none from among its own state lawmakers.

Mustafa also suggested that the two will likely be Dr Wan Azizah and Azmin, despite a request from PAS Youth to nominate state deputy Speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.