Sept 2, 1998:

Anwar Ibrahim, who was then deputy prime minister, was sacked from his post.

He wasted no time in transforming himself from a red carpet politician to a street fighter and took on Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a leader whom many believed to be invincible.

Thousands thronged his house in Bukit Damansara to hear his fiery speeches. And this was before the advent of the social media and smart phone.

He led mammoth street protests, was detained under the Internal Security Act, beaten blue and black and imprisoned.

Now aged 67, Anwar is once again serving a prison sentence and he has not stopped fighting.

July 28, 2015:

Muhyiddin Yassin has been dropped as deputy prime minister.

He has yet to transform into anything worth noticing and it is unlikely that he would do so in the coming days as well.

He has instead issued a media statement thanking his boss Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and accepting his fate.

A small crowd gathered at his house in Bukit Damansara to offer their sympathies but do not expect the 68-year-old politician to deliver hard-hitting speeches.

Nor would he organise street protests to object his removal for questioning the 1MDB issue.

Love or loathe him, messiah or charlatan, there is none like Anwar in Umno who have the gumption or the stamina to take on the leadership.

To these politicians, the prospect of landing in prison or being socked sends a chill down their spines.

Unlike Anwar, Muhyiddin does not possess the charisma to capture the imagination of the people nor to convince them to march on the streets.

If they do express backing for him, it would be motivated more by the dislike towards Najib.

Muhyiddin would rather let Mahathir take the lead while playing a second fiddle role in the attempt to dislodge Najib from power.

Now that the prime minister has crippled both the task force and Public Accounts Committee as well as removed his critics from the cabinet, the question now is what would he do to muzzle Mahathir?

Is he saving the best for last?

Related reports

Najib's new cabinet line up

'Axing Muhyiddin difficult but necessary'

Muhyiddin dropped, Zahid named as DPM

'No qualms if my head rolls over 1MDB'

Muhyiddin Yassin, man of the hour

Shafie: Never be sad when you fight for rakyat

'Newcomers in cabinet risk tainting themselves'

Will Muhyiddin rally his forces against Najib?

Ambiga: 1MDB critics out in 24hrs, isn't it obvious?

Najib's manouveur cripples 1MDB probes

Expert: Gani can challenge his removal in court

Call for no confidence vote on Najib in Parliament

MPs urged to unite against Najib if DPM sacked

'AG's removal bolsters conspiracy claim'

Beneath DPM to be at odds with PM: Zahid

'DPM's wrong, Umno won't lose GE due to 1MDB'

Reports: PM does cabinet reshuffle; DPM axed?

All cabinet decisions are collective, says minister

Have battle lines been drawn in Umno?

‘Datuk’ held over 1MDB probe released

Will Muhyiddin hit the Musa trail?

Gani Patail replaced as attorney-general shocker

PAC chief: Onus on audit team to reveal report

How just a day’s event can change lives

Media ban not to protect nation, but Umno

DPM said what needed to be said on 1MDB