Mahathir Suspects Link to Ringgit's Fall : Malaysian Leader Sees Hidden Jewish 'Agenda' 
International Herald Tribune
October 11, 1997
Thomas Fuller

Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad said Friday that he suspected there may be a Jewish "agenda" behind recent attacks on his country's currency and stock markets.

"We are Muslims, and the Jews are not happy to see Muslims progress," Mr. Mahathir was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency. "We may suspect that they have an agenda, but we do not want to accuse them."

The prime minister, who in the past three months has repeatedly accused the American financier George Soros of helping trigger the region's currency crisis, said the government was not blaming any Jewish conspiracy for the speculative attacks, according to Bernama.

But the people who were speculating were Jews and Mr. Soros was, incidentally, a Jew, Bernama paraphrased the prime minister as saying.

Bernama also quoted Mr. Mahathir as saying that Jews had robbed Palestinians of everything, but in Malaysia they could not do so, hence they depressed the ringgit, the national currency.

Analysts at political think tanks here said they believed Mr. Mahathir's comments had a lot to do with domestic politics. The prime minister, who has said he would like to give Islam a moderate face, was speaking to supporters in Terengganu, a state on the east coast of Malaysia, where political leaders have advocated strict interpretations of Islamic law.

A recent political directive in the state, for instance, called for hotels to build separate swimming pools for men and women.

Mr. Mahathir's comments, the analysts said, were meant to please supporters there.

In the neighboring state of Kelantan, the only state in Malaysia controlled by the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, officials have proposed separate checkout lines in supermarkets for men and women.

"Terengganu and Kelantan have very strong Islamic tendencies," said a source with close ties to the government. "The statements were really to address a domestic political agenda more than anything else."

Mr. Mahathir's barbs and fiery rhetoric follow a 23-percent drop in the Malaysian ringgit since July 2 and equally steep falls in the stock market.

"Many people say that I often shoot from the hip," Mr. Mahathir said on Thursday. "Some say I'm a loose cannon. Perhaps they are right."

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