MANILA. Oct 9: Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz yesterday vigorously defended her country's imposition of foreign exchange controls, and warned speculators their business "is dead." reports AFP.

The outspoken minister virtually turned a joint news conference with her Asean counterparts into a forum for defending Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who has come under criticism for adopting the currency curbs to shield his country from the Asian financial crisis.

She said the "selective controls" were aimed at maintaining a stable exchange rate between the ringgit and the dollar and would not in any way affect Kuala Lumpur's commitments to free trade.

"The stability of the exchange rate in fact facilitates trade for us. It enables traders to deal with Malaysia and Malaysia to deal with the rest of the world with certainty and predictability." she told reporters at the end of a two-day Asean economic ministers' meeting here.

Since the ringgit is pegged at 3.80 to the dollar, businessmen can undertake contracts without worrying about losing money "simply because you quoted the wrong prices," she said.

Rafidah said the measures were meant to shield Malaysia from the sudden and massive withdrawal of short-term investments in the financial and stock markets, which she described as "jet-setting capital."