(AFP) The government has approved only RM500 million to pump-prime its economy, not RM1 billion as reported, an official has clarified.

Rais Yatim, minister in the Prime Minister's department, was quoted by Thursday's Chinese-language daily Nanyang Siang Pau as saying the cabinet has allocated another one billion ringgit to shore up the economy after last week's terror attacks in the United States.

But Rais' press secretary, Syed Imran Alsagoff, said in remarks published today that the minister has been misquoted by the newspaper.

The cabinet has only approved new spending of RM500 million to be used for development projects involving small-scale contractors, he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Both Rais and Syed Imran were not reachable for further comment.

The new allocation comes six months after a RM3 billion fiscal package was unveiled to shore up the economy due to a slowdown in the US.