The floor under Malaysian wages is about to move again. At a dialogue with UiTM alumni in Shah Alam on 26 September, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim signalled that Budget 2027, due to be tabled on 9 October, will take direct aim at low pay, and he went further than usual: companies making billions in ringgit of profit have no excuse for paying workers RM1,700 a month.
For employers, the question is no longer whether wages will rise but how far and how fast. The signals coming out of Putrajaya this week point in one direction, while employers and unions are already miles apart on the number.
Malaysia minimum wage: what Anwar actually said
Speaking at the Himpunan Mesra Alumni UiTM, Anwar tied the wage question to productivity and profit. “If productivity is soaring and companies are making billions in profits, but workers are still earning RM1,700, then we have not raised the floor,” he said, according to The Star. He added that he would “announce some initiatives on this during the Budget.”
Two days earlier he had already put a number on the government’s own benchmark. “We have set a new benchmark for government-linked companies, a minimum salary of RM3,100, with the hope that the private sector will increase wages as well,” he said, in remarks carried by The Sun. And with the Budget in its final drafting stage, he said he would address the issue “more seriously.”
Anwar also went after the bonus gap. “If the bonus is three months, the CEO should get three months, and the worker, even the person collecting rubbish, should also get three months,” he said. His argument: a CEO on RM40,000 a month and a cleaner on RM2,000 already live in different worlds, so an eight-months-for-me, two-months-for-you bonus season is hard to defend.
The numbers on the table
| Figure | Who stands behind it | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RM1,700 | Current national minimum wage | In force since February 2025 |
| RM2,000 | FMM, the manufacturers’ group, calls this the defensible ceiling | Position, not policy |
| RM3,100 | Benchmark already set for GLICs | Applies to government-linked investment companies |
| RM3,100 | MTUC’s proposal for the national floor | Union proposal, under review |
| 9 October | Budget 2027 tabled in Parliament | Scheduled |
The gap between the employer and union positions is the whole fight in one row. FMM president Tan Kong Yuen, speaking at the release of the federation’s first-half 2026 business conditions survey, supported higher wages in principle but said the rise should track productivity, and put a reasonable landing point at around RM2,000. He warned that MTUC’s proposed 82.4% jump would shock the labour market and squeeze companies that are already managing costs.
MTUC sees it differently. Its secretary-general Kamarul Baharin Mansor has called for a structured wage system so that pay reflects skills and experience, and points out that the RM1,700 order, effective February 2025, is due for its next review, with the union wanting the new rate to bite in February 2027.
The middle-income squeeze is on the agenda too
Senior political adviser Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz widened the frame in a 26 September interview on the PodX Utusan Malaysia podcast. The Budget, he said, should look beyond the minimum wage to workers earning around RM2,000 a month, who face rising costs with little protection.
He leaned on World Bank data to make the point: Malaysia’s median monthly wage climbed from RM1,300 in 2010 to RM1,864 in 2024, while average wages went from RM1,792 to RM2,570. That is roughly 43% wage growth against 82% GDP growth over the same period. Employee compensation sits at about 35% of GDP, which he called low next to developed economies, and he pointed to the 13th-month salary norms in the Philippines and Indonesia as one way to lift annual earnings.
What the public is saying
Public reaction to the wage news is running well ahead of the Budget itself. On Buletin TV3’s clip about the wage announcements, which had drawn about 43,000 views and 60 comments within days, the most-liked reply, at 62 likes, rejected the whole framing:
“Tak payah nak bagi naik gaji.. bagi turun shaja kos sara hidup rakyat..” (No need to raise wages — just bring the cost of living down.)— top comment, 62 likes, Buletin TV3 clip, quoted verbatim
The next three most-liked comments all run the same direction:
“Hahha maknanya harga barang akan naik lagi” (So prices will rise again)— 29 likes
“Gaji naik… Dan semestinya ramai akan kena pecat…. Itu ja berlaku tiap kali naik gaji” (Wages rise, and plenty of people get laid off — that is what happens every time)— 15 likes
“Company Akan Potong Overtime Potong Benefits Macam Macam Lah Selagi Boleh Kurangkan Kos Sebab Gaji Naik…” (Companies will cut overtime and benefits, whatever they can, to offset the wage rise)— 13 likes
That is FMM’s productivity argument arriving from the ground up rather than from a press conference. Not every comment is hostile, though — one viewer asked for exactly what MTUC is demanding: “Mahu gaji minimum rm3100 sebulan” (I want a RM3,100 monthly minimum wage).
On Sekeluarga Media’s explainer, “Betul ke gaji naik lagi?”, with about 5,400 views, the tone was more mixed, but the same arithmetic shows up:
“Baguslaa gaji dinaikkan lagi, nanti barang runcit, market melambung tinggi, even yang bersubsidi kemungkinan naik rm1 atau rm0.80” (Good that wages rise — then groceries and markets soar, and even subsidised items probably go up 80 sen or RM1)— @aila-u9q
“nak naik gaji boleh tp kualiti kerja kene turut naik terutama staf kerajaan (yg selalu ada isu kualiti)” (Raising wages is fine, but work quality has to rise with it — especially civil servants)— @mohamadisma8015
And one viewer cut to the question everyone actually has: “gaji naik berapa rm pula,bagitau la” (How much exactly is the rise? Tell us.)
Read together, the dominant note across the 60-odd comments is not gratitude but arithmetic: a wage floor that rises faster than productivity gets passed straight to the shelf price. That is precisely what FMM’s Tan Kong Yuen warned, and precisely the pressure Anwar acknowledged when he said the government could not rely on legislation alone for fear of pushing investors away. The RM2,000-versus-RM3,100 gap is not only a policy argument — it is already the argument the public is having with itself under every news clip.
What SMEs should do before 9 October
Nothing is law yet. The RM1,700 order stands until a new minimum wages order is gazetted, and any change announced on 9 October will come with its own effective date. But the direction is clear enough to prepare for.
Three practical moves. First, model payroll at two or three landing points, RM2,000 and RM3,100 are the live candidates, so you know what each does to margin before the number is announced. Second, check that your wage structure is clean: the floor applies to basic wages, so staff sitting at RM1,400 basic plus allowances are already exposed, and padding allowances to cover a rise will not survive an inspection. Third, watch what happens to the GLIC RM3,100 benchmark. If the private sector is expected to follow it, competitors will start bidding for the same workers, and quiet compliance will cost more than planned adjustment.
Sources: The Star, “Low wages to be tackled” (27 September 2026) · The Sun, “If CEO gets three months, workers should too, says Anwar” (26 September 2026) · The Vibes, “Budget 2027 should address stagnant middle-income wages, says Tengku Zafrul” (26 September 2026) · Reddot News, “Minimum wage hike sparks discussion, FMM suggests RM2,000” · Buletin TV3, “Belanjawan 2027: Ada berita baik mengenai gaji” (YouTube) · Sekeluarga Media, “Belanjawan 2027: Betul ke gaji naik lagi?” (YouTube)
Quotes and figures were read from the published reports listed above on 27 September 2026. Budget measures are proposals until the Finance Minister tables them on 9 October.
