Hoping that Malaysia would use this time to reform its banking and corporate sectors, Masahiro Kawai, chief economist at the bank's East Asia and Pacific regional office, however, said it was hard to predict the long-term impact of these controls on country's economy.

"Malaysia wants to stimulate its domestic economy by using monetary controls by shielding the money market from the rest of the world through capital controls and at the same time maintain a stable exchange rate," he said at a press conference to launch a report called "East Asia: The Road to Recovery".

Principal author of the report, Richard Newfarmer, said Malaysia's exit from the financial storm would depend on whether control measures were temporary or were extended over several years.

Malaysia's success would also depend on how the governmentused this time period to swiftly move on its reform agenda and inspire domestic and foreign confidence in the economy. "Then perhaps, the measures would have a positive outcome," Newfarmer said.

However, he also said that the "Malaysian situation is unfolding -- it is too early to make pronouncements".