Malaysia plans to publish quarterly salary statistics

To address the issue of low salary payments, Malaysia will begin publishing salary statistics on a quarterly basis, Rafizi Ramli, Malaysia’s Economic Affairs Minister, has announced. The initiative, he explained, will address salary issues, create a benchmark for the open job market, and foster a more dynamic work environment in the country.

The publication of salary statistics is expected to benefit both employees in Malaysia and the economy by fostering a greater focus on wage-related concerns. Rafizi emphasised the importance of comprehensive data infrastructure to ensure accurate policy formation, stating, “We cannot make policies based on fact as we need information and that’s what we’re working on. We are confident that data infrastructure will be ready and then we talk about benchmarking.”

The decision to release quarterly wage statistics is also driven by the need to keep pace with changing salary trends. Rafizi highlighted the growing disparity between salaries and the urgency to bridge the gap, and expressed hope that in the future, the government could release salary data monthly, enabling even more timely policy adjustments.

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Additionally, Rafizi revealed ongoing discussions within various ministries like the Economic Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry, to develop more progressive salary policies. The first presentation of the progressive salary framework is scheduled for August 2023, with discussions and engagement sessions planned over the next two months, reported New Straits Times.