THE selective use of capital controls is likely to be a major issue at the annual meetings of the
                       International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington this week, says IPS
                       journal.

                       In a report originating from Mexico City, the daily's September 16 issue said unless the major
                       Western countries heed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's call for a new global
                       financial architecture that protects developing countries from the volatility of short-term capital,
                       then many developing countries will have to look at the option of controls as a sort of insurance.

                       The report, entitled, "Malaysian Success Spawns New Thinking on Controls", quoted Mr William
                       Dillinger, one of the authors of the World Bank's 1999-2000 World Development Report, as
                       saying that five years ago the conventional wisdom was that controls were always bad and there
                       would be capital flight if they were imposed.

                       "Now, there is a little bit of doubt about that position," he said.

                       However, Dillinger did say that the use and effectiveness of the controls will vary from country to
                       country.