Malaysia’s economy expanded by 5 per cent in the first quarter of this year, with economists believing that the growth momentum will be sustainable for the rest of 2022 as the country sees improved recovery in domestic and external demand.

The announcement by the central bank on Friday (May 13) exceeded the vast majority of forecasts by various analysts, which ranged between 3.3 per cent and 4.8 per cent for the first 3 months of 2022.

The first-quarter performance was significantly higher than the 3.6 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of last year and the 0.5 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2021. Bank Negara largely attributed it to improved domestic demand as economic activities have mostly returned to normal with the easing of Covid-19 measures.