Malaysia's annual economic growth slowed to 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, leaving the country's new government with the task of turning around an economy that has decelerated for two consecutive quarters. Releasing the latest gross domestic product data on Thursday, the central bank said domestic demand would help growth stay favourable, though the January-March performance was below a median forecast of 5.5 percent given by a Reuters survey of economists.
Growth has decelerated from 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 from 6.2 percent in the third quarter, its strongest showing in three years.
The slowdown comes amid uncertainty over economic policies of the new administration led by Mahathir Mohamad, who led an opposition alliance to a surprise win over his scandal tainted former protege Najib Razak and a Barisan Nasional coalition that had led the country for six decades. Bank Negara Malaysia said first quarter growth was propped up by expanding private sector activity and strong support from exports.