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Message: <blockquote data-quote="OSFlanker" data-source="post: 185441" data-attributes="member: 12">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 : <a href="http://www.malaysiakini.com" target="_blank">www.malaysiakini.com</a></blockquote>

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