Soros under fire in KL

Soros under fire in KL

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Leaders of Malaysia's ruling coalition have rebuked international financier George Soros after he said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad should be removed from office, newspapers said on Saturday.

Zulkifli Alwi, secretary of the National Front's youth wing, told the Star newspaper that Malaysians must "realize the machinations of greedy and inconsiderate capitalists like Soros". Ling Liong Sik, a cabinet minister and president of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), a dominant member of the coalition, told Soros to mind his own business.

"I think this is another example of absolute arrogance," the Star quoted him as saying.

Defense Minister Syed Hamid Albar told the Utusan Malaysia newspaper that Soros' remarks "reinforced perceptions that there are external agenda trying to provoke the Malaysian people". Mahathir has not reacted publicly to Soros's comments.