'Other agenda behind ASEAN currency plunge'

'Other agenda behind ASEAN currency plunge'

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad believes an international financier opposed to Myanmar joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is behind the turmoil sweeping Southeast Asian currencies, newspapers reported yesterday.

The reports, carried by several Malaysian newspapers, said Mahathir made the remarks to a business group in the Japanese city of Okayama Monday on the eve of his return home following an extended overseas break.

"We feel that there is some other agenda apart from making money. As you may have noticed ASEAN countries are the targets," he was quoted as saying by Business Times, citing Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

"We ask ourselves is it just speculation to make money or is it something else? We feel that there is some other agenda, especially by this particular person who is the patron of a foundation," Mahathir said.

"If they want to attack the British pound, by all means do so. Britain is rich. Malaysia is a poor country and it is not right for people like these to play and speculate with our currency," he was quoted as saying.

"If we are sovereign nations, shouldn't we be able to protect what belongs to us? Instead, we are told that we should allow for such speculative activities, But they are teaming up to impoverish the poor countries."

Although Mahathir refused to name the financier, the New Straits Times said he was "known to have tried to have used his financial clout in the United States to block (Myanmar's) entry" into the Association of Southeast Nations on Wednesday.

George Soros of the U.S. seemed to be the target.

Business Times added that the Malaysian prime minister "would not rule out the possibility that this foundation is against ASEAN's decision to admit (Myanmar) and is therefore putting pressure on the currencies of the grouping's members in the hope of undermining their economies."

Several western countries, notably the United States, strongly opposed Burma's entry, citing human rights abused by the country's military junta.

"What is most distressing is that people can push up or down your currencies simply because they have a lot of money," the Malaysian prime minister was quoted as saying. "This is very bad."