(AFP) - The resignation of Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin is unlikely to spark a shift in Malaysia's economic policy because long-term growth plans are in place, analysts said today.

They said the government has a comprehensive policy framework for the economy and capital markets, fully backed by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and a successor to Daim is unlikely to challenge it.

Mahathir announced Daim's resignation Saturday and late today said he himself would be acting finance minister until he finds a replacement.

The stock market closed 0.7 percent lower today amid uncertainty on who would replace Daim, who is credited with pulling Malaysia out of two recessions and was widely seen as the most powerful man after Mahathir.

HLG Securities chief economist Lee Heng Guie did not foresee policy changes.

"There should not be any major shift in policy regardless of who is appointed," he told AFX-Asia , an AFP -owned financial news service. "The PM and his team are still there. Our growth policies have been laid out."

Lee said it was crucial to name a successor immediately to allay market uncertainty.

He said there was a strong possibility that Mahathir would appoint a non-politician given a recent drive by his ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno) to separate business from politics.

"This drastic reform within Umno is like building blocks leading to the general election ... to make the distinction between politics and business clearer. I think (Mahathir) would want to show that Umno is very serious this time around," Lee said.

Mahathir said Daim had also resigned from the influential post of party treasurer.

Song Seng Wun, Singapore-based regional economist with G.K.Goh, said he did not believe Daim's resignation was due to a rift with Mahathir but as "a consequence" of a series of bailouts and buyouts of politically-connected companies.

Daim left to "take some of the flak ahead of the Umno" general assembly on June 21 amid talk that Mahathir would clean up the party to reunite the Malay community, he said.

Alan Inn, assistant research director with Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, agreed that Daim's departure could be a political manoeuvre to take some of the blame heaped on the government in recent months.

Daim has been associated in the public mind with a series of unpopular bailouts of politically connected companies - such as the government's decision to buy back a stake in Malaysia Airlines from a private company at twice the market price of the shares.

But Inn said Daim's resignation was not surprising as he had long stated his intention to leave.

What was important to investors was the fact that Mahathir was still in control, he said. Inn believed Mahathir had a successor in mind as it was not feasible to handle two jobs in the long run.