By the mid-1990s, it became clear that the most serious threat to Mahathir's power was Anwar's leadership ambition. Anwar began to distance himself from Mahathir, overtly promoting his superior religious credentials and appearing to suggest he favoured loosening the restrictions on civil liberties that had become a hallmark of Mahathir's premiership. However, Mahathir continued to back Anwar as his successor until their relationship collapsed dramatically during the Asian financial crisis, with Mahathir abandoning the tight monetary and fiscal policies urged by the IMF. Anwar refused to bail-out Mahathir son, Mirzan Mahathir's, interests in Malaysian International Shipping Corp.
