KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Monday his ruling Barisan Nasional coalition can manage without the two-thirds majority it has long enjoyed in parliament.

Speaking after a meeting of BN component party leaders on Monday, Mr Abdullah also said that he will continue to ensure the economy is healthy.

Mr Abdullah's ruling coalition lost the two-thirds majority in parliament in weekend elections that delivered the worst electoral setback to the BN Front in its 50-year rule.

The election upset led to a tumble on the Malaysian stock markets, causing trading to be halted for an hour in mid-afternoon.

Trading was halted from 2:58pm to 3:58pm after the benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) went limit-down 10% to 1166.32 points, the first time the limit-down rules have been triggered since their introduction in the wake of the Asian financial crisis more than a decade ago.

The KLCI fell 10.5% when the market reopened and ended the day's trading down 9.5 percent or 123.11 points at 1,173.22.

Stocks fell on concerns that a weakening of the ruling coalition's grip on power will create policy uncertainty and could lead to a delay in infrastructure projects. But credit rating agencies Fitch and Moody's on Monday maintained their sovereign ratings on Malaysia, saying the economy was on a sound footing.

Government-linked infrastructure companies took a beating on the bourse. Malaysian Resources Corp tumbled a whopping 39 percent, UEM World 24 percent, and Sime Darby 17 percent, over fears the opposition would scrap projects on the drawing board.- CNA/ir