Recently, the conversation regarding salaries in Malaysia has turned pretty heated. This follows the recent back-and-forths about whether or not the minimum wage should be increased and also reports that Malaysian employers were considered among the stingiest in Southeast Asia when it came to paying employees for their work.
Only a few days ago, an Instagram account called “Goodbye Wage Taboo” (@malaysianpaygap) was created that allowed Malaysians from all industries to anonymously share the details of their employment, including how much they were earning and the conditions of their jobs.
Unsurprisingly, the account has since gone viral, gaining thousands of new followers relatively quickly while regularly posting details sent in by many Malaysians eager to share their salaries and accompanying thoughts and grouses.
While looking through the many entries on the page, there were a number of interesting observations to take away from it all (even despite the small sample size). Here are a few of the things that stood out.
Highly-skilled specialists get paid the best, generally.
Just looking at how much these anonymous individuals were earning, it became quite evident that there was no clear leader in terms of which industry in Malaysia offered the best salaries compared to others.
Comparing the accounts from individuals who sent in their details, it became clear that although you may work in the same industry as someone else, your pay grade may still be vastly different from the other person.
Of course, this has plenty to do with the level of technical proficiency and where you may be at in the corporate ladder. But overall, the main takeaway to be found was that those with specialist roles requiring more technical skills or unique knowledge tended to post higher salaries compared to the rest.
Here are some examples (all salaries earned monthly unless stated otherwise):
Maintenance Planner - RM10,000
Pilot - RM8,000 to RM15,000
Marine Engineer - RM14,000
Cybersecurity Specialist - RM8,000 to RM60,000* (earned in foreign currency)
Principal IT Consultant - RM12,000
Doctor - RM8,000
Software Engineer - RM15,000
Foreign Language Customer Service - RM 7,000
These figures contrast heavily with those from other professions such as marketing, law, hospitality, or education, where salaries hover between the RM1,000 to RM5,000 mark (depending on various factors).
Also, this sort of gives an insight into what sort of value is placed on employees by their bosses, along with the question of whether such pay gaps between certain roles are commensurate with the degree of talent or skills on offer.
While everything is subjective (as it usually is when it comes to valuing workers), it does seem as though in Malaysia, those with higher levels of expertise can expect to earn way more than those who may even be just a step lower in skill level or knowledge.
But before we get carried away with all of this, we should remember that once again, the salary reveals above are only from a small sample size of Malaysians, and should no way be used as an indicator of which industries can offer up the best wages.
If you want a more objective view of which sectors pay the best in Malaysia, you’ll be better off looking at this feature from Free Malaysia Today.
There’s more to it all than the paycheck.
Of course, we shouldn’t forget the other things that make up the job experience. Looking at the individual entries, it’s also worth pointing out several other factors that influence job satisfaction.
For example, although there were many who revealed high wages, some among them said that attaining such a level only came through doing things such as relentlessly networking, constantly working overtime for long periods, or simply gaining enough experience to eventually land their dream roles.
But the common trend among most of the entries revealed that a large number of these individuals had to work overtime consistently, with many not even getting rewarded in pay increases or extra benefits after slogging away.
Another point to note was that many of them also did not manage to progress in their careers despite having racked up years of experience, as exemplified by a few who have retained the same pay and position despite having been at their jobs for several years.
While none of this should be taken as conclusive evidence of Malaysian bosses being among the “stingiest in Southeast Asia”, it does indeed show that a lot of Malaysian workers do feel as though the time and commitment given to their jobs have not been rewarded as much as they would have liked.
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Cover image sourced from @malaysianpaygap on Instagram and Evergreen Small Business.
