When Anwar Ibrahim was sacked by Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998, some Malaysians had more than a few things to say about the two leaders. After all, they were from the same party and had shared the same faith in the corrupt system.

Clearly, the economic crisis of 1998 had exacerbated their already strained relationship. It is no secret that Mahathir needed funds to bail out his cronies and Anwar, as the finance minister, was standing in his way. Anwar too had his own cronies and the battle lines were drawn between the two men.

Similarly in 1987, when Razaleigh Hamzah took on Mahathir, it was also against the backdrop of an economic crisis. Economic crises ultimately lead to political crises, and this has been repeated many times in history.

So what is the difference between Mahathir and Anwar?

When Mahathir was the deputy prime minister, non-Malays were very worried. He was seen as a racist, as he kept harping on the issue of Malay unity and Malay rights over everything else. This same accusation was leveled at Anwar when he was Umno Youth leader, and later deputy prime minister.