Mahathir to meet old critic Soros

In the news …

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is to meet his old foe , US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros , who will visit the country this week.

Tun Dr Mahathir , who in 1977 referred to Mr Soros as a ” moron ” , blamed him for under-mining the South-east Asian economies during the Asian financial crisis by destablising their currencies. Malaysia later established capital controls to prevent currency speculation.

Mr. Soros , 76 , retorted that Tun Dr Mahathir , 81 , was a ” menace to the country ” ‘ and subsequently called on him to step down amid fierce controversy over the 1998 sacking of then Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim.

” They are definitely meeting , but the details of the meeting have yet to be finalised , ” an aide to Tun Dr Mahathir said.

Mr. Soros , who is making his first visit to Malaysia , will be arriving tomorrow as part of a regional tour to promote his new book , The Age Of Fallibility.