International financier George Soros has called for the removal of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mr Soros's comments are part of a long-running feud between himself and the Malaysian leader.

... but analysts say Dr Mahathir's views are not vastly different

When the East Asian crisis broke nearly 18 months ago, Dr Mahathir said international speculators were to blame. And the worst of them was Mr Soros - who in 1992 had helped force the UK pound out of the European monetary system.

Dr Mahathir said Mr Soros had no interest in the prosperity of developing countries and in a speech at the IMF meeting in Hong Kong last year, he accused the financier of promoting beggar-thy-neighbour policies.

At the same venue the next day, Mr Soros replied that the Malaysian leader was a menace to his country.

Yet the two men don't disagree about everything. In his new book, The Crisis of Global Capitalism, Mr Soros sees some of the same faults in the workings of the international financial system as does Dr Mahathir - the dangers of totally unfettered financial markets, for example.

Dr Mahathir faces protests at hom

That has not helped, however: in his speech in Washington, Mr Soros analysed the currency controls introduced in Malaysia and said Dr Mahathir was doing the right thing for himself because he was preserving himself in power and putting himself in a position where he could bail out his cronies.

This view is quite widely shared in the international financial community, but never articulated, until now.