Old nemesis to meet? Tun M vs Soros

[OSFlanker]

In today's Star it was mentioned Tun M maybe meeting up with his old nemesis, the billionaire George Soros. Here is another take on this news from Malaysiakini :Soros to visit M’sia, may meet Mahathir World renowned financial investor and philanthropist George Soros will be making his first visit to Malaysia this week and has hinted that he may meet his nemesis, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. “We have had an exchange of letters and a personal meeting is planned if his health permits,” Soros told malaysiakini in an exclusive email interview, referring to Mahathir's heart attack last month. Soros, 76, is scheduled to address Malaysia’s London School of Economics Alumni Society on Friday in Kuala Lumpur. “The Malaysian LSE Alumni society had invited me in the past. Since I am an LSE alumnus and planned to travel to the region, I decided to take them up on their offer,” he said.This will be Soros’ first visit to Malaysia despite having traveled to Southeast Asia a number of times before. While in Malaysia, Soros plans to meet a broad range of people including business, government and civil society leaders. However, all eyes will be on a potential meeting with his nemesis, Mahathir. Mahathir is presently recuperating from a mild heart attack which he suffered on Nov 9. The meeting, should it happen, will mark a dramatic about-turn in their testy relationship. Nearly a decade ago, Mahathir had pinned the blame for the Asian financial crisis on currency speculators, naming in particular Soros, who is Jewish. He reportedly called Soros a “moron” out to wreck Asian economies by selling their currencies, while the billionaire financier hit back by accusing Mahathir of being a “menace to his country”. Change of heart But there has been a change of heart since the heated and public name-calling between the two. In an interview with malaysiakini earlier this year, Soros has indicated that he would be happy to meet Mahathir. “I think Mahathir has made a great contribution to Malaysia’s material development but like all great men, he has made some great mistakes. There are many areas where we think alike, and I’ll be happy to engage in a dialogue with him.” Soros made his name in 1992 by speculating that the Bank of England would not be able to sustain the pound’s international value. When the central bank finally allowed the pound to float, Soros walked away with over a billion pounds. It is believed that the Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara, had bet against Soros and lost billions. Soros has since put much of his wealth to build ‘open societies’, a concept he picked up from Karl Popper - his tutor while at the London School of Economics. Having personally experienced Hitler’s seizure of Hungary and the subsequent deportation of the country's Jews to extermination camps followed by post-war communist rule, Soros has invested in foundations that promote the creation of open and democratic societies. Such ‘open societies’ are to be built based on the rule of law, market economies, transparent and accountable governance, freedom of the press and the respect for human rights.Major Bush criticSoros is a major critic of the current US administration, donating significant funds to various groups dedicated to defeating the George W Bush in the 2004 elections. He had also donated US$25 million of his own money to anti-Bush groups, such as MoveOn.org and America Coming Together. Sensing the direction America was taking, Soros recently published a book titled ‘The Age of Fallibility’ arguing that "America must undergo a change of heart". He said that the war on terror was a “false metaphor”.The self-made billionaire, whose net worth is US$7.2 billion, is ranked number 28 in Forbes' list of 400 richest Americans in 2005.Source : www.malaysiakini.com

 

[OSFlanker]

Q & A with George Soros (by malaysiakini.com)

We were not sellers of the currency during or several months before the crisis; on the contrary, we were buyers when the currencies began to decline, George Soros tells malaysiakini in this exclusive email interview.

Malaysiakini: We understand that you will be visiting Malaysia to address the Malaysian London School of Economics Alumni Society on Dec 15. Can you tell us a little about what you will be speaking about?

Soros: The Malaysian LSE Alumni society had invited me in the past. Since I am an LSE alumnus and planned to travel to the region, I decided to take them up on their offer.

As to what I will speak about, I will decide when I get there and find out what people are interested in. I will also talk about what I am interested in, namely, fostering open societies and achieving greater transparency in the use of natural resources through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Citizens should all benefit from the resource wealth of their countries.

Will you be meeting business and government leaders?

Although I have traveled to Southeast Asia before, this is my first visit to Malaysia. While there, I plan to meet with a broad range of people, from business and government leaders, academics, to representatives from civil society.

Will you meet with Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

We have had an exchange of letters and a personal meeting is planned if his health permits.

Many Malaysians would remember you as the person the former former prime minister blamed for the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. You have previously rebutted this but do you have a response to Malaysians who maintain that currency speculators, such as yourself, are essentially at fault?

I can categorically state that my fund did not sell short Malaysian ringgits for several months prior to the currency crisis in 1997. I have asked my office to compile our currency transactions in the ringgit for 1997 and I hope to have it available by the time I am in Malaysia.

I do believe that government policy was faulty, however. The most immediate cause of trouble was a misalignment of currencies. The Southeast Asian countries maintained an informal arrangement that tied their currencies to the US dollar. The apparent stability of the dollar peg encouraged local banks and businesses to borrow in dollars and to convert dollars into local currencies without hedging; then the banks lent to or invested in local projects, particularly real estate.

This seemed to be a riskless way of making money as long as the informal peg held. But the arrangement came under pressure, partly from the undervaluation of the Chinese yuan in 1996, and partly from the appreciation of the US dollar against the Japanese yen.

The balance of trade of the countries concerned deteriorated, although the trade deficits were at first offset by continuing substantial inflows on capital accounts. Nevertheless, by the beginning of 1997, it was clear to us at Soros Fund Management that the discrepancy between the trade account and the capital account was becoming untenable.

We sold short the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit early in 1997 with maturities ranging from six months to a year. Subsequently Mahathir accused me of causing the crisis. The accusation was totally unfounded. We were not sellers of the currency during or several months before the crisis; on the contrary, we were buyers when the currencies began to decline - we were purchasing ringgits to realise the profits on our earlier speculation, much too soon, as it turned out.

Malaysians are very passionate about the Palestinian cause. You have called it a difficult problem and that "both sides have to take responsibility for the conflict". What do you think are the first steps to make progress on the issue?

I have long supported a two-state solution. I believe that the United States must be integrally involved in the peace process and must press for a comprehensive settlement.

According to the OSI website, your foundation has been supporting work in Palestine towards "empowering Palestinians who would promote a more open and equitable society." In Israel, OSI has been "assisting Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel in their pursuit of equal civil and cultural rights and Jerusalem-based Jewish groups concerned with the rule of law." How long has this work being going on and can you tell us a little about the impact?

We have been assisting Arab-Palestinian organisations and individuals for several years and I should like to think that our assistance has been helpful to them. Over the past few years, we have been engaged in the region and hope to do more.

In the occupied Palestinian Territories, my foundation is supporting human rights groups and organisations promoting freedom of expression and pluralism in the media. In partnership with Palestinian donors we have provided scholarships to Palestinian lawyers and have supported the Welfare Association to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, suffering from a lack of needed medicines this year.

The success of this work hinges in part on whether there is progress towards reaching a comprehensive settlement. The groups in Jerusalem are working on issues complementing our work in the occupied territories: monitoring the checkpoints, illegal settlements and violence against Palestinians.

Reflecting on America in your recent book ‘The Age of Fallibility’, you argued that "America must undergo a change of heart" starting with renouncing the "feel good" misconception implicit in the war on terror." With voters turning against Republicans at the recent elections, do you feel the process has begun?

Yes. It is now widely recognised that the invasion in Iraq was a blunder but people have not yet rejected the war on terror as a false metaphor.

Source : www.malaysiakini.com

 

[OSFlanker]

From www.theedgedaily.com :

Dr M accepts Soros' explanation over financial crisis

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has accepted George Soros’ explanation that the currency speculator was not personally involved in the speculative activities that triggered the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98.

The former prime minister said he had accepted the explanation given by Soros, whom he had once blamed for triggering the crisis that overwhelmed most of the Southeast Asia and South Korea economies.

At a press conference scheduled after the meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 15, Dr Mahathir said his perception of the billionaire had changed as it was then based on news reports while he had not personally met him. “That’s why I am talking with him (Soros),” he added.

Soros had arrived in Malaysia to promote his book, “The Age of Fallibility” and would speak at the London School of Economics fund raising (ed) dinner.

During their 90-minute meeting, they discussed their concerns about global problems, especially on US policies in Iraq and Palestine. Dr Mahathir also said he has many Jewish friends who do not regard him as anti-Semitic. However, he was concerned about what was happening in Palestine.

“I was somehow labelled as anti-Semitic. I’d like to explain that whenever I make criticisms, I don’t make criticisms against the Jews. They are also criticisms against Muslims,” he added.
Soros said he wanted to meet with Dr Mahathir as the latter was interested in promoting world peace in the world and there had been correspondences between them.

“I felt the idea of getting people to renounce war is not enough and we agree on that. We are both very concern about the future of our civilisation,” Soros said.

Dr Mahathir said he and Soros agreed on matters pertaining to the Palestinian issue and they were both against the US taking unilateral military actions. However, Dr Mahathir said he was still concerned that currency speculations could destroy many countries. “I am still against it. I don’t think we need such activities to make corrections in the economy,” he said.

The ringgit was pegged to the US dollar at RM3.8 in September 1998 and it was unshackled in June last year. The ringgit was quoted at RM3.5490 at 5pm on Dec 15.

Soros, when asked for his opinion on Dr Mahathir’s economic policy, replied the Malaysian financial authority made a mistake of maintaining the currency peg for too long, which led too much financial distress. Nevertheless, Soros said the currency control had reduced the impact of the crisis on Malaysia.

He said it was the financial authorities that should be responsible for maintaining the stability of their respective currency. “That responsibility doesn’t belong to the speculators but to the authorities, because the authorities should decide have the market should function, whether it should be capital control, under what condition and so on,” he said.

“I, as a speculator, act according to the prevailing rules. Knowing the market, I believe, now, sometimes it’s appropriate to impose some restriction on capital flows,” he added.

 

[wirelessjunkie]

osf, great job u and your team did for tonight's dinner. Your Indonesian Alumnus was fab!

 

[OSFlanker]

osf, great job u and your team did for tonight's dinner. Your Indonesian Alumnus was fab!

Wait till I show u a pic I took with my camera phone. The main man GS surrounded by 8 beautiful MAS stewardesses. Strictly for private circulation only ;-)

I tell you, those stories about MAS girls being not pretty is not true. The 8 that came were gorgeous, and intelligent too. Don't you think so? Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah were very impressed when he came to register and pleasantly surprised to see them

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Wait till I show u a pic I took with my camera phone. The main man GS surrounded by 8 beautiful MAS stewardesses. Strictly for private circulation only ;-)

I tell you, those stories about MAS girls being not pretty is not true. The 8 that came were gorgeous, and intelligent too. Don't you think so? Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah were very impressed when he came to register and pleasantly surprised to see them

They were seriously tall too.....heads and shoulders above 90% of the crowd!! Mega wet dreams last night.