Minimum Wage Malaysia 2026: Current Rates, Coverage & Employer Compliance

Quick Answer: The minimum wage in Malaysia is RM1,700 a month, or RM8.72 an hour, under the Minimum Wages Order 2024. It has applied to every employer, whatever its size, since 1 August 2025. Domestic servants are the only workers excluded. Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, raises it to RM2,000 a month from June 2027.

Key fact	Minimum Wages Order 2024 (P.U. (A) 376/2024)
Monthly minimum wage	RM1,700
Hourly minimum wage	RM8.72
Daily minimum wage	RM65.38 (6-day week), RM78.46 (5-day week), RM98.08 (4-day week)
In force for all employers	1 August 2025
In force for employers with 5+ staff	1 February 2025
Who is excluded	Domestic servants only
What it covers	Basic wages. Allowances and overtime do not count.
Maximum fine for underpaying	RM10,000 per employee (Act 732, section 43)

Figures checked against the gazetted Minimum Wages Order 2024 and the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 on 30 September 2026.

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What is the minimum wage in Malaysia in 2026?

The minimum wage in Malaysia in 2026 is RM1,700 a month, set by the Minimum Wages Order 2024 (P.U. (A) 376/2024), which was gazetted on 4 December 2024.

The order is made under section 23 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 (Act 732). It sets one national rate, which applies across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.

An employer may pay more than RM1,700, and most do for graduate roles. The order only sets the floor. Section 24 of Act 732 works both ways: a contract that promises less than the minimum is automatically read as promising the minimum, and a contract that already pays more cannot be cut down to the minimum when a new order takes effect.

How much is the minimum wage per hour and per day?

The gazetted minimum is RM8.72 an hour. The daily minimum depends on how many days you work each week: RM65.38 for a six-day week, RM78.46 for a five-day week and RM98.08 for a four-day week.

Pay basis	Minimum rate (from 1 August 2025, all employers)
Monthly	RM1,700.00
Daily, 6 working days a week	RM65.38
Daily, 5 working days a week	RM78.46
Daily, 4 working days a week	RM98.08
Hourly	RM8.72

These figures come straight from the order. They follow a simple method: the monthly rate is converted to a weekly one (RM1,700 × 12 ÷ 52 = RM392.31), then divided by the working days in the week, or by 45 hours for the hourly rate. Forty-five hours is the maximum normal working week under the Employment Act 1955 as amended in 2022.

You may see RM8.17 quoted elsewhere as the hourly rate. That figure does not appear in the Minimum Wages Order 2024. If you are paid by the hour, the rate to check your payslip against is RM8.72.

Who is covered by the minimum wage, and who is not?

Every employee in Malaysia is covered except domestic servants, as defined in the Employment Act 1955 and the Sabah and Sarawak Labour Ordinances.

That means the RM1,700 floor applies to:

• Full-time and part-time employees. Part-timers are paid at least RM8.72 for each hour worked.
• Foreign workers. The order does not distinguish by nationality.
• Workers paid only by piece rate, tonnage, task, trip or commission. Under paragraph 3(2) of the order, their monthly pay must still add up to at least RM1,700.
• Employees of small businesses. Since 1 August 2025, the number of staff an employer has no longer matters.

The only group the order excludes is domestic servants, such as live-in household helpers. Their pay is set by their contract, not by the Minimum Wages Order.

Does the minimum wage include allowances, overtime or EPF?

No. Act 732 defines the minimum wage as basic wages, so allowances, overtime, bonuses and commissions cannot be counted towards the RM1,700.

An employer cannot pay a RM1,400 basic salary plus a RM300 transport allowance and call it minimum wage. The basic salary itself must be at least RM1,700.

The RM1,700 is also measured before statutory deductions. Your employee contributions to EPF, SOCSO and EIS come out of it, so your take-home pay at minimum wage is lower than RM1,700.

What is your take-home pay on RM1,700?

A Malaysian employee under 60 earning exactly RM1,700 takes home about RM1,501 a month after EPF, SOCSO and EIS. No income tax (PCB) is deducted at this salary. This assumes you have not opted in to PERKESO's LINDUNG 24 Jam scheme, which is voluntary for Malaysian employees.

RM1,700 basic salary, Malaysian citizen	Under 60	Aged 60 and over
EPF (employee, 11% / 0%)	RM187.00	RM0.00
SOCSO (employee)	RM8.25	RM0.00
EIS (employee)	RM3.30	Not payable
PCB (income tax)	RM0.00	RM0.00
Take-home pay	RM1,501.45	RM1,700.00
Employer's total cost	RM1,953.15	RM1,788.60

Calculated from the KWSP Third Schedule, the PERKESO Act 4 and Act 800 contribution tables, and LHDN's monthly tax deduction formula, checked 30 September 2026. Try your own salary in the SuperJobs salary calculator.

How did the RM1,700 minimum wage phase in?

The RM1,700 rate reached larger employers first, on 1 February 2025, and every other employer six months later, on 1 August 2025.

Period	Employers with 5+ employees, or in professional (MASCO) occupations	Employers with fewer than 5 employees
1 Feb 2025 – 31 Jul 2025	RM1,700 a month (RM8.72 an hour)	RM1,500 a month (RM7.21 an hour)
From 1 Aug 2025	RM1,700	RM1,700

Employers in professional activities classified under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations (MASCO) had to pay RM1,700 from February 2025, however few people they employed. The six-month grace period ended on 31 July 2025, so in 2026 there is no lower rate for any employer.

What are the penalties for paying below minimum wage?

An employer who pays below the minimum wage commits an offence under section 43 of Act 732, punishable by a fine of up to RM10,000 for each underpaid employee.

Provision (Act 732)	Penalty
Section 43: failing to pay the minimum wage	Fine up to RM10,000 per employee
Section 46: continuing offence after conviction	Up to RM1,000 for each day the offence continues
Section 47: repeated offence	Fine up to RM20,000, or imprisonment up to 5 years
Section 45: any other offence under the Act	Fine up to RM10,000

On top of the fine, section 44 lets the court order the employer to pay you the shortfall between what you were paid and the minimum wage, plus any other payments that should have been calculated on the higher basic wage. If the employer ignores that order, the court can have the employer's property seized and sold to pay it.

How do you report an employer who underpays you?

Lodge a complaint with the Labour Department (Jabatan Tenaga Kerja, JTK) for your state. The Labour Department for Peninsular Malaysia is JTKSM, and Sabah and Sarawak have their own labour departments.

Before you file, collect:

1. Your payslips. They show your basic salary separately from allowances.
2. Your contract or offer letter. It shows the agreed basic wage.
3. Your working hours, if you are paid by the hour or by the day.
4. Your EPF statement. Contributions are calculated on wages, so they help confirm what you were actually paid.

The Labour Department investigates the claim and can take the employer to court under Act 732. If you are still employed, keep records as you go rather than reconstructing them later.

Worked example: a part-time café worker in Petaling Jaya

This is a composite example. Aina works part-time at a café in Petaling Jaya, 5 hours a day, 4 days a week. She is paid RM8.00 an hour.

• Hours a week: 5 × 4 = 20 hours.
• What she is paid: 20 × RM8.00 = RM160.00 a week.
• What the order requires: 20 × RM8.72 = RM174.40 a week.
• Shortfall: RM14.40 a week, or about RM62.40 over a typical 4.33-week month.

Her employer must raise her rate to at least RM8.72 an hour. A contract rate of RM8.00 is automatically replaced by the minimum under section 24 of Act 732.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Counting allowances towards RM1,700. Only basic wages count. A RM1,500 basic salary plus a RM200 allowance is underpayment.
2. Using RM8.17 as the hourly rate. The gazetted hourly minimum is RM8.72.
3. Assuming small businesses still pay RM1,500. That rate ended on 31 July 2025.
4. Paying commission-only staff below RM1,700 in a slow month. The order sets a RM1,700 floor even when pay is entirely commission, piece rate or per trip.
5. Treating take-home pay as the test. The minimum applies to the basic wage before EPF, SOCSO and EIS, so a take-home figure below RM1,700 does not by itself mean you are underpaid.

Is the minimum wage going up in 2027?

Possibly. As of 30 September 2026, the Ministry of Human Resources is reviewing the Minimum Wages Order 2024, and no new rate has been announced.

In Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, the Prime Minister announced that the minimum wage will rise from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month from June 2027, covering more than four million workers. Micro, small and medium enterprises with annual sales below RM50 million are exempted from the new rate. The government also plans a RM2,500 minimum monthly wage for semi-skilled workers and graduates. Until the new rate takes effect, RM1,700 remains the legal minimum. We will update this guide when the new Minimum Wages Order is published.

Take the Next Step

• Check your working hours and overtime pay in our guide to overtime and working hours in Malaysia.
• Know your rights at work with our guides to workplace safety under OSHA and sexual harassment laws.
• Compare what your role pays across Malaysia on Salary Insights, or work out your take-home pay with the salary calculator.
• Looking for a better-paid role? Browse jobs on SuperJobs.

Sources

All checked 30 September 2026.

• Minimum Wages Order 2024, P.U. (A) 376/2024, gazetted 4 December 2024 (Ministry of Human Resources)
• National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 (Act 732), sections 2, 23, 24 and 43–47 (JTKSM)
• Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), as amended in 2022: 45-hour maximum normal working week
• KWSP Third Schedule, PERKESO contribution tables and LHDN's monthly tax deduction formula, for the take-home pay table
• 2026 minimum wage review: The Star, 7 September 2026, and reporting on the RM2,000 option, 28 September 2026