Malaysia appeared to be on the brink of joining other Asian countries in recession as it reported on Friday that gross domestic product grew by only 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2008 from a year ago, the slowest rate in seven years.

The manufacturing sector contracted by 8.8 per cent in the period after posting positive growth for the past 26 quarters as exports slumped, particularly in the mainstay electronics industry. Exports in goods and services fell 13.4 per cent.