Malaysia to Review Progressive Wage Policy Effectiveness by Year-End

At a press briefing in Putrajaya, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the government will conduct a thorough assessment of the Progressive Wage Policy by the end of this year or early next year, as the program approaches its planned end in late 2027. The evaluation will focus on the policy's success in increasing wages and will consider complementary factors such as productivity improvements, training, and skill upgrades.

Participation by employers is to remain voluntary, allowing firms to adapt the measures to their own capacities. Nasir referenced the Malaysia Salary and Wages Survey Report 2025, which recorded a 3.3% increase in real wages to RM2,104, and warned that wage gains must be weighed against local cost-of-living pressures. He highlighted that the wage differential between unskilled and semi-skilled workers fell from RM550 in 2016 to RM396 in 2024, indicating slower growth for semi-skilled earners, and called for stronger career-progression pathways beyond the minimum wage floor.