KUALA LUMPUR, May 26, 2009 (AFP) - Malaysia's export-driven economy is expected to shrink by more than the forecast contraction of 1.0 percent in 2009, a minister said Tuesday.

In March, the government warned the economy could contract by 1.0 percent this year despite a massive US$16.2 billion ($23.5 billion) stimulus package, dumping its earlier target of 3.5 percent growth.

"I cannot tell you but it will definitely be below minus 1.0 percent," Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah said according to state news agency Bernama.

His comment came after economists predicted that Malaysia's economic contraction would be much more severe than the government forecast.

Official data showed Malaysia's economic growth slowed to just 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, hit by falling exports and manufacturing.

Figures for the first quarter of 2009 are to be released on Wednesday.

"Wait for the central bank's announcement tomorrow. Prime Minister Najib Razak will make another announcement the next day on the new forecast growth for 2009 and we will then know the position of the country's economy," Ahmad Husni said.

An independent think-tank, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), said last month that the economy would shrink by 2.2 percent in 2009, citing gloomy business and consumer confidence amid the global downturn.

MIER also said Malaysia would slide into a technical recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth - in the first half of 2009, as it suffers the knock-on effects of a flagging global economy.