Malaysia posts slowest growth since 2009 of 0.7 per cent but beats forecast of Q1 contraction

Malaysia’s economy defied expectations of a sharp contraction and registered growth of 0.7 per cent in the first quarter, government data released on Wednesday showed.However, it was the slowest pace of growth since 2009 and worse may lie ahead, as Malaysia is expected to be hard hit should the coronavirus pandemic lead to a global recession.The 0.7 per cent growth outperformed the median forecast, from a poll of 12 economists by Reuters, of a 1.5 per cent contraction in the January-March…