While a consumer led recovery is established north of the border in Thailand, Malaysia's consumers are acting just a little more conservatively. While car sales have been up for a while, a reliable indicator of a promising economy, a broad-based consumer led recovery has been slower to get into gear.

Malaysia's Star On-Line reports that consumers remain set on big-ticket items - that property and the automotive industry are bouyant, but that this has not necessarilly carried over to less costly consumer items.

That may well be due to the Malaysian culture, where change is driven from the top, and the broad population are followers rather than innovators. This tendency is manifested in many arenas, from politics, to popular culture, to consumer behaviour.

Malaysians are not happy with fast change, as Dr Mahathir continues to reinforce. Just as the Asia crisis took a while to dawn on consumers, recovery may just be as tentative now.

Consumer spending rose 2.5% in January to March 2002, a modest but encouraging sign while salaries remain depressed.

The seeds of a Malaysian recovery are there, but discretionary expenditure will only rise as Malaysians become convinced that better times are ahead.