Malaysia’s RM1,700 minimum wage is expected to be increased, with details of the new rate set to be announced during the tabling of Budget 2027 on October 9.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the review and study on adjusting the minimum wage are now at the final stage before being presented in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said the move was part of the government’s efforts to address significant income disparities, particularly among graduates entering the workforce.
Anwar said wages should rise in tandem with productivity, especially when companies record substantial profits.
“The problem is that we have increased it from RM1,200 to RM1,500 and now RM1,700 as the minimum for the private sector. Productivity in Malaysia has increased, but wages have risen very little. So we have to use the government’s authority to apply some pressure,” he said.
He also criticised disparities in bonus payments between senior executives and lower-paid workers, saying companies should ensure that employees benefit more fairly when businesses perform well.
“If the bonus is three months, the CEO should also get three months, and the worker who collects rubbish should also get three months,” he said, pointing to the wide difference between the salaries of senior executives and lower-paid workers.
Anwar said the RM3,100 minimum wage for government-linked companies (GLCs), introduced last year, should serve as a benchmark for the private sector.
He added that he remained concerned about large companies recording substantial profits without corresponding increases in workers’ wages.
The remarks came after UiTM Student Representative Council president Muhammad Adib Hazim Mohamad Razali raised concerns about graduate employability and the prospect of graduates taking jobs below their academic qualifications.
Meanwhile, Anwar also announced that the UiTM Jalan Othman campus in Petaling Jaya would be renamed the UiTM Tun Arshad Ayub Jalan Othman Campus in recognition of the late educationist’s contributions to the institution.
The government will also provide an immediate RM2.5 million allocation for the campus.
Arshad Ayub, who died in 2022, was the first director of the Institute of Technology MARA (ITM), serving from 1967 to 1975. He played a key role in the institution’s development before it evolved into Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and was known for his emphasis on education quality, governance and expanding educational opportunities for Bumiputera students.
