Finance Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today urged the ministry's staff to give him full cooperation in implementing policies, adding that his assumption of the post "will not be for long".

Mahathir, who is also the prime minister, said a change of ministers will not alter the policies which have been decided beforehand.

"When a minister gets replaced, the ministry's staff remain the same. It is these people who will ensure that there is continuity in the implementation of policies," said Mahathir while addressing the finance ministry's personnel at a monthly meeting with them in Kuala Lumpur.

It was the first such meeting since the premier assumed the finance minister's post shortly after his predecessor Daim Zainuddin resigned from all government posts on June 1, amid rumours of a worsening rift between the most and second most powerful men then.

Mahathir has kept the card close to his chest on who will be the next minister and whether the second finance minister's post will be reactivated.

Yesterday, The Sun daily reported that Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman, the economic adviser to the prime minister, is expected to be made the second finance minister who will oversee the daily operations of the ministry soon.

Still free

At the 30-minute session this morning, Mahathir stressed that the finance ministry is playing an instrumental role in preserving the country's freedom and sovereignty.

"Many countries are turning to 'Paris Club' (international aid groups) every year for wang ehsan (goodwill funds) but this country is still free and not in debt to countries who impose pre-conditions before granting a loan," he said.

"It is therefore important to improve our knowledge and skills in managing the country's finance to make sure that the outsiders will not come in to conquer our economy," he added.

However, he also noted that the threat of currency speculators who are ready to impoverish developing countries still exists.

"It is a challenging world. We are living in the era of globalisation and it is affecting us. Until we truly understand the concept of globalisation, we will not be able to cope with it," said Mahathir.

Also present at the meeting this morning were deputy finance ministers Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh and Chan Kong Choy.