The Minimum Wages Order 2024 sets the minimum wage at RM1,700 a month, RM8.72 an hour, and RM65.38, RM78.46 or RM98.08 a day depending on whether the week is six, five or four working days. It applied from 1 February 2025 to employers with five or more employees, and from 1 August 2025 to everyone else. Paying the rate is only half the duty — s.19 of the Employment Act 1955 requires payment within seven days of the wage period ending.
- RM1,700 per month, RM8.72 per hour, gazetted as P.U.(A) 376 on 4 December 2024
- Daily rate is RM65.38 for a six-day week, RM78.46 for five days and RM98.08 for four days
- The small-employer deferment ended on 31 July 2025 — every employer is on RM1,700 from 1 August 2025
- The Order does not apply to domestic servants as defined in the EA 1955 and the Sabah and Sarawak Labour Ordinances
- Wages must be paid within seven days of the end of the wage period under s.19 EA 1955
- Deductions are only lawful if s.24 permits them, and generally cannot exceed 50% of the month's wages
- Underpayment carries a fine of up to RM10,000 per employee under s.43 of Act 732
Who this applies to: Employers setting pay rates, and employees checking whether their pay and deductions are lawful.
On this page
Knowing the rate is the easy part. An employer who pays RM1,700 on the 20th of the following month, after docking a week’s pay for a broken laptop, has complied with the Minimum Wages Order and broken the Employment Act twice.
The gazetted rate
The Minimum Wages Order 2024, P.U.(A) 376, was gazetted on 4 December 2024 under s.23 of the National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 and revoked the 2022 Order.
| Basis | Rate |
|---|---|
| Monthly | RM1,700 |
| Hourly | RM8.72 |
| Daily — 6-day week | RM65.38 |
| Daily — 5-day week | RM78.46 |
| Daily — 4-day week | RM98.08 |
For an employee paid solely on piece rate, tonnage, task, trip or commission, the monthly wage must not be less than RM1,700.
The Order does not apply to domestic servants as defined in s.2(1) of the Employment Act 1955, s.2(1) of the Sabah Labour Ordinance and s.2(1) of the Sarawak Labour Ordinance.
The deferment is over. Paragraph 4 gave employers with fewer than five employees a transitional RM1,500 (RM7.21 an hour) — but only from 1 February 2025 to 31 July 2025. Paragraph 5 brought them to RM1,700 from 1 August 2025. Employers carrying out a professional activity classified under MASCO were on RM1,700 from 1 February 2025 regardless of headcount.
No Minimum Wages Order 2026 has been gazetted. The National Wages Consultative Council secretariat portal shows RM1,700 as the operative rate and records engagement sessions on a review of the 2024 Order held during 2026.
Paying it on time: s.19
Under s.19(1) of the Employment Act 1955, wages less lawful deductions must be paid not later than the seventh day after the last day of the wage period. Rest-day, gazetted public-holiday and s.60A overtime pay may run to the last day of the next wage period under s.19(2). Only the Director General can extend the period, on the employer’s application, and only where payment in time is not reasonably practicable.
A monthly wage period ending 31 January must therefore be paid by 7 February. A policy of paying on the 10th is not a payroll preference; it is a standing contravention.
Deducting from it: s.24
s.24(1) starts from a prohibition — no deduction may be made otherwise than in accordance with the Act. Four categories are lawful without more under s.24(2): overpayment of wages made in the immediately preceding three months by the employer’s mistake, indemnity due under s.13(1), recovery of an interest-free advance made under s.22, and deductions authorised by any other written law.
Beyond those, s.24(3) requires the employee’s written request for trade union or thrift-society payments and share purchases; s.24(4) requires the employee’s written request and the Director General’s prior written permission for superannuation and insurance schemes, interest-bearing advance repayments, payments to third parties, purchases of the employer’s goods, and accommodation, services, food or meals.
Deductions in any one month may not exceed 50% of that month’s wages under s.24(8), with exceptions in s.24(9) for s.13(1) indemnity, final-payment deductions on termination, and housing loans, which may go a further 25% with written permission.
Nothing in s.24 authorises a deduction for damaged property, till shortages, lateness or resigning without notice as a stand-alone penalty.
Common mistakes
- Paying on a fixed calendar date later than the seventh day after the wage period ends, and calling it company policy.
- Deducting the cost of damaged equipment or stock losses — no paragraph of s.24 permits it.
- Treating an employee’s signature on a handbook as the written request s.24(3) and s.24(4) require for a specific deduction.
- Assuming small employers are still on RM1,500. That ended on 31 July 2025.
- Prorating a monthly salary to a daily rate by dividing by 30 instead of using the Order’s working-day derivations.
What’s next
Check three settings in payroll: the pay date against the seventh-day rule, the deduction codes against s.24, and the hourly and daily divisors against the Order. Then confirm the resulting gross is at or above RM1,700 before statutory deductions — the minimum wage is a floor on wages payable, not on take-home pay.
Has a Minimum Wages Order 2026 been gazetted?
No. The operative instrument remains the Minimum Wages Order 2024, P.U.(A) 376, which revoked the 2022 Order. The National Wages Consultative Council secretariat portal shows RM1,700 as the current rate and refers to an ongoing review of the 2024 Order, but no new rate has been gazetted.
Does the minimum wage still differ for small employers?
No. Paragraph 4 of the Order set a transitional RM1,500 rate for employers with fewer than five employees, but only for the period 1 February 2025 to 31 July 2025. Paragraph 5 replaced it with RM1,700 from 1 August 2025.
When must wages be paid?
Under s.19(1) of the Employment Act 1955, no later than the seventh day after the last day of the wage period. Rest-day, gazetted public-holiday and overtime pay under s.60A may be paid by the last day of the next wage period. The Director General may extend the time on an employer's application if payment within the period is not reasonably practicable.
Can an employer deduct for damage, uniforms or lateness?
Only where s.24 allows it. The deductions an employer may make without more are overpayment of wages made in the preceding three months by the employer's mistake, indemnity under s.13(1), recovery of interest-free advances under s.22, and deductions authorised by written law. Anything else needs the employee's written request, and in several cases the Director General's prior written permission as well.
Is there a cap on total deductions?
Yes. Under s.24(8) total deductions in any one month must not exceed 50% of that month's wages. The cap does not apply to s.13(1) indemnity, to final-payment deductions on termination, or to housing loan repayments, which with the Director General's written permission may go up to a further 25%.
The following are deliberately unstated or described only qualitatively until confirmed by a subject-matter expert:
- Monitor gajiminimum.mohr.gov.my for the outcome of the announced review of the Minimum Wages Order 2024 and any 2026 or 2027 Order
Sources
- Perintah Gaji Minimum 2024 — P.U.(A) 376 — Attorney General's Chambers / MOHR
- Sekretariat Majlis Perundingan Gaji Negara — MOHR
- Employment Act 1955 (Act 265) — updated text of reprint — JTKSM
- National Wages Consultative Council Act 2011 (Act 732) — JTKSM
Change history
| Version | Date | Change | By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.00 | 20 Jul 2026 | Approved and published. | — |