Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government has agreed to revise the salaries of lecturers, professors, and civil servants through the upcoming second Madani Budget to be presented in Parliament next month.
This will be a temporary measure, while a comprehensive study on the salary and retirement schemes for civil servants is completed. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also added that the study on civil servant salary and retirement schemes is expected to finish next year.
The reason for this revision is due to the fact that the salaries for these groups have not received any adjustments for a long period of time.
“I’ve noticed that the salary adjustments for lecturers, professors, and civil servants have not been reviewed or increased for the past 10 to 12 years. According to regulations, there should be salary adjustments every 10 years, ” he said.
This is in line with the government’s ongoing effort to ensure a progressive wage for Malaysians, along with a progressive wage model being drawn up by the government.
The need for a progressive wage model in Malaysia was underlined when the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released the Employees Wages Statistics (formal sector) report, which showed that the median wage for Malaysians working in the formal sector stands at a paltry RM2,600.
For reference, according to Indeed.com the average salary for a lecturer in Malaysia is RM3348, which is only RM748 above Malaysia’s median wage.
