Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi today reprimanded various state chief ministers telling them to heed the advice of the Auditor-General in placing more attention on managing state finances.

"Serious attention has to be given to financial management and to ensure that financial regulations are followed,"Abdullah said in his speech today at the National Finance Council Meeting 2000 at the Ministry of Finance, Kuala Lumpur.


"The weaknesses include bills not being cleared on time, vote books not being adjusted completely and neatly and unsatisfactory internal control of revenue collection," he said.

"These weaknesses were repeated and arose because instructions and regulations were not followed properly."

Abdullah stated that it was the responsibility of both the central and the state governments to guide the financial management and manage accounts in order to achieve cost effectiveness, especially in government projects.

"The government also views seriously the problem of low expenditure or short fall. This problem exhibits weaknesses in planning and execution, it endangers national economic growth.

"The opportunity for the people of Malaysia to enjoy the benefits of Malaysia's economic growth could also be curtailed by this problem," Abdullah said.

Malaysiakini barred


Abdullah also stressed the importance of the K-economy, calling on the state governments to initiate a paradigm shift from a production based economy to a knowledge based economy.

"This is in line with government efforts to hasten human resource development, research and development efforts and to encourage high-tech industries in making information technology as the catalyst of economic growth in the future."

Meanwhile, malaysiakini was barred from entering the press conference when a ministry official announced that both the foreign press and malaysiakini were not allowed into the conference room after the conclusion of the meeting.

The official then told malaysiakini that it was not allowed to participate because it is not accredited by the government and has no accreditation tag to prove its status.

The Ministry of Information issues accreditation to journalists on application but approval is not automatic.

Daim says MAS shares have value

Also present at the meeting was Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin who responded to questions concerning the just concluded sale of Tajudin Ramli's Malaysia Airlines (MAS) shares (amounting to 29 percent) to the government. MAS had been reported as making losses for the past three years.

According to a Bernama report today, Daim refuted that the government's purchase of the troubled national airline's shares was a "bailout".

He was quoted as saying that the purchase was done on the basis of a willing buyer and willing seller basis.

When asked if the shares were being sold to the government at a high price (at RM8 when the market price is below RM4), Daim's reply was: "The value is more than the market price."

The government is paying a total of RM1.792 billion for Tajudin's 29.09 percent stake in the airline.