Mahathir-Soros debate rages

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's bitter criticism of George Soros drew a response from the U.S. financier on Sunday.

Soros disavowed the accusations -- that he contributed to the present currency crisis in the region -- leveled against him by the prime minister. In turn, to gain the approval of his audience, he referred to Mahathir Mohamad as a "little Sukarno".

Soros has admitted that since the beginning of the currency crisis -- which was marked by the floating of the Thai baht on July 2 -- he has been making transactions in rupiah.

Soros also conceded that he was, at present, in a long position in rupiah, i.e. holding large amounts of the currency. He also remarked that in his estimate Indonesia was in a better position than Malaysia.

The rally of quips between Mahathir Mohamad and George Soros gives us the impression that the exchange will not offer a solution to the problems at hand.

In any case, there will always be people who will try to profit from another person's misfortune. This is especially true when the economies of the world are becoming more and more integrated.

The only effective weapon to avert exposure is to constantly step up the resilience of all aspects of our national economy.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta