Credit : Erwin Khairul's X
KUALA LUMPUR, November 3, 2026 — The Ketua Pengarah (Director-General) of Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia (JaPen), Erwin Khairul, has highlighted the government’s decision to raise the National Minimum Wage from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month from June 2027, with an exemption for micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with sales below RM50 million.
In a short video post shared on X on November 3, 2026, Erwin wrote in Malay that the National Minimum Wage “is raised from RM1,700 to RM2,000 a month from June 2027, with an exemption for SMEs with sales below RM50 million.”
The increase was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Finance Minister, when he tabled Budget 2027 in the Dewan Rakyat on October 9, 2026. He said the new rate would cover more than four million workers, and that the gap between workers’ productivity and wages had to be narrowed because household incomes had not kept pace with rising prices, according to RTM and Malay Mail.
Anwar noted at the time that employee compensation accounted for only 33.9 per cent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP). As part of wider reforms to the wage framework, the government will also introduce a minimum wage of RM2,500 a month for semi-skilled jobs and graduates as a starting point, while government-linked investment companies (GLICs) and government-linked companies (GLCs) have committed to raising their living wage benchmark from RM3,100 to RM3,400 a month, benefiting about 230,000 workers.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said on October 16, 2026 that the exemption for SMEs with sales below RM50 million was given to allow the businesses concerned room to adjust. He told a press conference in Putrajaya that the turnover threshold would be assessed at group level, taking subsidiaries together with their holding company, and that the minimum wage for exempted employers would remain at RM1,700 a month, The Edge reported. He added that the new rate would also cover foreign workers employed by firms subject to the increase.
Ramanan also said the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) was working out the details of an e-Wages module to monitor salary payments and strengthen enforcement of labour laws, with the aim of reducing unpaid wages, late payments and payments below the minimum wage, according to RTM.
SMEs wishing to apply for the exemption have been urged to obtain an SME status certificate from SME Corp. Malaysia, Deputy Entrepreneur and Cooperatives Development Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin told RTM on October 20, 2026. He said SME Corp. Malaysia is the only agency mandated to issue the certificate, and that more than 60,000 SMEs had so far had their status confirmed.
In a written reply in the Dewan Rakyat on October 13, 2026, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said SMEs employ 8.09 million people, or 48.7 per cent of Malaysia’s workforce, The Vibes reported. He said the new Minimum Wage Order would be enforced by the labour departments in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak under the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011, and that employers who breach the law could face fines or imprisonment under Section 43 of the Act.
Wages have remained in the spotlight in Parliament. On November 2, 2026, Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani told the Dewan Rakyat that some manufacturers earning hundreds of millions of ringgit in profits were still reluctant to pay Malaysians even RM2,000 a month, preferring to keep starting salaries at the RM1,700 minimum wage, The Star reported.
The new rate takes effect in June 2027. The government has not yet specified how long the exemption for smaller SMEs will last, The Edge Malaysia reported.
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