The Lunar New Year break adversely affected the number, but the results for the first twomonths, when they are aggregated to eliminate the holiday effect, may not look much better.
Whatever the motive, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad surprised just about everyone when he announced he would be going on a working holiday in May, leaving his deputy in charge for twomonths.
"This modest reduction of 2.4 percent in spending over the next six months is a little more than the average American experienced just twomonths ago, when their own pay went down when the payroll tax holiday expired, " McConnell said.
However, he issued a warning that further falls were unlikely over the next twomonths as the NHS faces up to winter pressures and the increased demands from flu and the Christmas and New Year holiday.