Chief statistician Mohd Uzir noted that while growth moderated slightly from the previous quarter, it remained underpinned by strong domestic fundamentals.
PETALING JAYA: The economy continues its steady trajectory in early 2025, buoyed by resilient domestic demand and broad-based sectoral performance, despite ongoing global headwinds.
According to the Statistics Department, economic activity remained broad-based, supported by consistent performances in services, manufacturing, construction, trade and employment.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin noted that while growth moderated slightly from the previous quarter, it remained underpinned by strong domestic fundamentals.
“Malaysia’s advance gross domestic product estimates point to a steady growth of 4.4% in the first quarter of financial year 2025, although this marks a moderation from the 5% recorded in the previous quarter.
“The growth continued to be underpinned by the services, manufacturing and construction sectors, while the mining and quarrying sector remained on a declining trajectory,” he said.
Malaysia’s industrial production demonstrated moderate growth in February 2025, with the industrial production index increasing by 1.5%, led by a 4.8% growth in the manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s inflation rate eased to 1.5% in February, down from 1.7% in January, amid stable economic conditions. This moderation was attributed to slower price increases in key categories such as housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
Despite a slight monthly increase in inflation by 0.1%, it was noted to be “consistent with the increase observed in January, indicating a relatively stable inflationary environment”.
As for the wholesale and retail trade sector, it registered a 5.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in February with sales amounting to RM148.3bil. The increase was largely driven by strong performances in retail trade, which grew by 5.9%, and wholesale trade, which rose by 5.3%.
Malaysia’s trade sector continued its positive trajectory, with total trade increasing by 5.9%, reaching RM223.9bil in February.
Exports and imports grew 6.2% and 5.5%, respectively, resulting in a 12.2% increase in trade surplus to RM12.6bil.
The labour market also continued to improve with total employment rising by 2.9% to 16.73 million people, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.1%, supported by a 4.3% drop in the number of unemployed persons.
The labour force participation rate inched up to 70.7%, reflecting growing confidence in job prospects.
Despite these positive developments, the leading index – a composite measure forecasting future economic activity – posted a marginal y-o-y decline to 112.4 points and remained below the 100-point threshold.
This indicates that while there are modest growth prospects, the economy still faces challenges amid ongoing global uncertainties.
“These trends suggest that the Malaysian economy is experiencing slow but steady growth, with external factors contributing to a cautious outlook,” said Mohd Uzir.
Looking ahead, he emphasised the need for continued investment, innovation and strong public-private collaboration to support inclusive and sustainable economic development.
