JAKARTA. June 5: President Abdurrahaman Wahid said Monday he was opposed to imposing capital controls to boost the value of Indonesia's ailing currency, the rupiah, reports AP.

But Wahid, who met earlier in the day with the head of the International Monetary Fund, said his government was looking for a way to keep tabs on the flow of currency into and out of Indonesia’s debt-ridden economy.

"What I want to do is capital monitoring and registration of capital inflows and outflows." Wahid told reporters at a press conference. "What Indonesia is planning is foreign ext hange registration which other countries have already done.'"

IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler told reporters after meeting Wahid that the president had told him "that it would be illogical to invent capital controls in Indonesia" and that it was a view he shared.

Koehler, who is on a five-na-

tion tour of Asia, said that instead of shoring up the rupiah, capital controls would actually weaken the currency as they would deter investment and shut Indonesia off further from international markets.

• Wahid reportedly raised the possibility of imposing currency controls last week, though some government officials. including the governor of the central bank, are against the idea. The IMF has repeatedly stated its opposition to plan.

A newspaper report on Monday quoted Finance Minister Bambang Sudibyo as saying the government was seriously seeking a mechanism to make exporters repatriate their foreign exchange earnings.

"What we need is a control measure." Bambang was quoted by Bisnls Indonesia as saying. Immediate attempts to confirm the report were unsuccessful.

The issue could shape up to be the latest snag in the relationship between Indonesia and IMF. which is overseeing a multibillion dollar rescue and reform programme to help the Southeast Asia nation overcome its worst economic crisis in three decades.

The international body delayed disbursement of part of its US 5 billion loans to Indonesia and April because of government foot-dragging on several economic issues.