exclusive World renowned financial investor George Soros said he is open to meeting former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad despite previous tensions between the two.

"I think Mahathir has made a great contribution to Malaysia's material development but like all great men, he has made some great mistakes. There are many areas where we think alike, and I'd be happy to engage in a dialogue with him."

Mahathir had accused Soros of attacking the region's currencies, saying this led to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Defending his role, Soros argued it was his responsibility as a fund manager to spot unsustainable policies and anticipate market movements. He maintained that he has no control over financial markets.

"The authorities control policy. And they had a certain policy on the exchange rate which was a faulty policy. So they are the ones who are responsible for the crisis," he said.

Soros, 75, was speaking to malaysiakini while in Singapore recently on a familiarisation visit to a number of Southeast Asian organisations - especially in Indonesia and Timor Leste - which are backed by his Open Society Institute (OSI) and related foundations.

However, he took a positive view of Mahathir's response to the crisis.

"I agreed with him on how he responded to the financial crisis, more than I agreed with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) advice," said Soros.

"Dr Mahathir feels very strongly that Malaysia has been a victim of colonialism, and as a victim he ought to be careful not to victimise others."

He maintained his misgivings on Mahathir's political actions, and had previously ticked off the former premier's treatment of his protege, Anwar Ibrahim.

Soros made his name in financial circles when he bet in 1992 that the Bank of England would not be able to sustain the international value of the British pound. When the bank finally allowed the currency to float, Soros walked away with over a billion pounds.

The self-made billionaire, whose net worth is US$7.2 billion, is ranked number 28 in Forbes' list of 400 richest Americans in 2005.

Error in judgement

Soros also shared Mahathir's position against the invasion of Iraq, led by the administration of US President George W Bush.

"I think the majority of Americans now realise that going into Iraq was a colossal blunder, and public opinion has turned against Bush People in America have not realised the source - where America has lost its way - and this is with the war on terror.

"The war on terror is still accepted as the cornerstone of American policy and I'm trying to convince the American public of the error, of trying to deal with terrorism by waging war.

"We reject terrorism because terrorists kill innocent people for a political goal. Irrespective of the goal whether justified or not, killing people is a crime against humanity and cannot be accepted.

"But when dealing with it, we must not fall into the trap of doing the same thing as a terrorist and waging war inevitably claims innocent victims."

When Bush campaigned for re-election in 2004, Soros had funded a series of anti-Bush advertisements.

He had also donated US$25 million of his own money to anti-Bush groups, such as MoveOn.org and America Coming Together.

Open society defined

Soros founded foundations championing the idea of an 'Open Society', following his personal experience as a Jew in Nazi-occupied Hungary during World War II.

Assuming a false identity, he survived the Holocaust while witnessing the deportation of the Jewish community to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Despite this, Soros said Israel-Palestine issues need to be understood from both sides.

"I think it takes two to tango, that both sides have to take responsibility for the conflict. This may rub up some of my co-religionists the wrong way.

The OSI and its network of foundations have played a significant role in supporting democratic initiatives, particularly in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

"My definition of an open society is as an imperfect society that holds itself open to improvement," Soros said.

Over the past 25 years, he had given US$5 billion of his wealth through his network of foundations.

In 1995, he supported the creation of the Media Development Loan Fund (MLDF), a venture capitalist which invests in independent media organisations in emerging democracies.

Currently, MDLF receives support from 15 international organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, and has pioneered the use of bonds as an instrument to raise funds for investment in press freedom activities.

MDLF has investments in over 50 media organisations in 28 countries, including a 29 percent stake in Malaysiakini.com.

Q&A: Soros on opening up closed societies