ALMOST 90 per cent of Malaysian companies granted salary increases this year, with executive employees receiving an average rise of 5.03 per cent and non-executives 4.65 per cent, according to the latest survey by the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
MEF president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman said projections for 2026 suggest wage growth will exceed five per cent, reaching 5.33 per cent for executives and 5.01 per cent for non-executives.
He noted that performance remains the single most influential factor in determining increments.
“For executives, 89.4 per cent of the criteria for salary increases is based on performance, and employee performance continues to be the dominant factor, followed by an employer’s capacity to pay, annual salary-review practices, market rates, and the company’s profitability and productivity,” he said at the launch of the MEF survey publication.
Syed Hussain also revealed that more than 80 per cent of employers in Malaysia continue to award bonuses.
The average bonus for 2025 stands at 2.17 months for executives and 1.96 months for non-executives. Forecasts for 2026 indicate slight adjustments to 2.16 months for executives and 2.02 months for non-executives.
Company performance and individual merit remain the primary determinants in bonus decisions.
The MEF survey covered 266 organisations across manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, representing data from 13,082 executive employees and 27,017 non-executives. - December 5, 2025
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