Two decades have passed since Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his former heir apparent-turned-nemesis Anwar Ibrahim locked horns, giving birth to the Reformasi movement.

Now, the pair finds themselves in a similar situation, where Mahathir is prime minister again and Anwar his supposed successor.

And just like in 1998, speculations of a rift have surfaced and the two have denied this.

For former Umno lawmaker Tawfik Ismail, the son of former deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, it is a case of déjà vu.

"Listening to sort of what is denied (now), it is almost like listening to what Anwar and Mahathir said many, many years ago.

"I support you, you support me, then the next day, you know, one is killed (politically)," he told reporters at the launch of the book Anatomy of an Electoral Tsunami in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

Tawfik (photo) noted that Mahathir does not have the best track record in choosing successors, but now his new coalition Pakatan Harapan has picked Anwar.

"His successor is now named by the Harapan council as Anwar. Can he live with it? Literally, can he live with it?" he questioned.

Tawfik pointed out that all those whom Mahathir had named as his successor failed to become prime minister or were later removed, such as Musa Hitam, Ghafar Baba, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Abdul Razak.

"So now he is trying to come back but he has got no friends left. He is 93 (years old), all his friends have died," he added.

Tawfik also claimed that many of the issues and problems in 2018 had lingered from Mahathir's previous administration from 1981 to 2003.

He said the younger generation might not remember or be aware of this, and therefore must learn about what transpired in the past.

The former MP urged the youth to take everything Mahathir says with a pinch of salt.

"I don't know if any of you remember that, but people that lost quite a lot still remember," he added.

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