Malaysia’s economy expanded 4.2 percent in January-March compared with a year earlier, its slowest growth for a quarter since 2009 as exports and domestic demand were weak.
A Reuters poll had forecast 4.1 percent annual growth in the first quarter, and the pace in 2015’s last three months was 4.5 percent.
The central bank, which announced the latest growth rate on Friday, also said the current account surplus narrowed to 5 billion ringgit ($1.24 billion) in the first three months of this year, lower than 11.4 billion ringgit in the previous quarter.
In January, the government revised its 2016 growth projection to 4.0-4.5 percent from 4.0-5.0 percent. ($1 = 4.0310 ringgit)