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Environmental health officer salary in Malaysia

Gaji Pegawai Kesihatan PersekitaranGaji Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran

What the Ministry of Health and other agencies pay new environmental health officers at each entry level under the 2026 public-service pay scale, with the allowances set by the JPA circular.

MalaysiaSSPA pay scale · Budget 2026DOSM Salaries & WagesRM per monthUpdated 23 Oct 2026
Government pay scaleBasic pay range / month
Entry, diplomaAssistant environmental health officer, U5RM1,650–6,620Entry, degreeEnvironmental health officer, U9RM2,250–11,110PromotionGrade 10RM3,840–12,150SeniorGrade 12RM5,530–13,540SeniorGrade 14RM6,560–15,360
Minimum to maximum basicScale RM0 to RM16kSSPA pay scale, Budget 2026
Starting basicRM2,580RM30,960 a yearU9, honours degree in a related fieldSee the pay breakdown →With allowancesRM3,480RM41,760 a yearBasic plus RM900 fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSee the pay breakdown →With a diplomaRM1,974RM23,688 a yearU5, RM2,784 with allowancesSee every entry level →Top of grade 9RM11,110RM133,320 a yearMaximum basic at U9See the pay scale →
At a glance

Environmental health officer salary in Malaysia

What the job is: Environmental and occupational health and hygiene professionals assess, plan and implement programmes to recognize, monitor and control environmental factors that can potentially affect human health, to ensure safe and healthy working conditions and to prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, radiological and biological agents or ergonomic factors. ILO ISCO-08, 2263 Environmental and Occupational Health and Hygiene Professionals

  • Environmental health officer (Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran, U9): RM2,580 basic a month (honours degree in a related field).
  • With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month at U9.
  • Assistant environmental health officer (U5): RM1,974 basic, RM2,784 with allowances.
  • Pay scale: grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110, rising RM225 a year.

What a new environmental health officer earns

An environmental health officer at U9 starts on RM2,580 basic, plus RM900 in fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month.

Grade U9, from the SPA service scheme and the JPA allowance circular. The starting point depends on the qualification.

Qualification or pay itemGrade U9RM a month
Honours degree in a related fieldStarting basic2,580
Fixed allowances, Kawasan AHousing (ITP) RM300, public service (ITKA) RM300, cost of living (BISH) RM300900
Total fixed pay at the start, honours degree in a related fieldBasic plus fixed allowances, Kawasan A3,480

Sources: SPA scheme page for grade U9; JPA Pekeliling Perkhidmatan 1/2024, Lampiran E. BISH is lower outside Kawasan A. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • A year at the starting rate is RM3,480 × 12 = RM41,760.
  • Allowances counted here are the fixed ones in the JPA circular. Any allowance tied to a particular post is not included.

How to become an environmental health officer

Environmental health officers enter at U5 and U9, depending on the qualification.

Entry levelQualificationStarting basic, RMWith allowances, RM
Assistant environmental health officer (Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran, U5)Diploma in environmental health1,9742,784
Environmental health officer (Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran, U9)Honours degree in a related field2,5803,480

Source: SPA scheme pages. Allowances from the JPA circular, Kawasan A: U5 RM810, U9 RM900. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • Every route needs a credit in Bahasa Melayu at SPM or SVM.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,250 up to RM11,110. Promotion to a higher grade moves an officer onto a higher range.

Minimum and maximum monthly basic salary for each SSPA grade, 2026.

GradeWhoMinimumMaximumYearly increment
5Assistant environmental health officer, entry with a diploma1,6506,620145
9Environmental health officer, entry with a degree2,25011,110225
10Promotion grade3,84012,150250
12Promotion grade5,53013,540270
14Promotion grade6,56015,360320

Source: Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A: SSPA salary codes and minimum-maximum salaries (page A-1). Basic salary only.

What it means
  • With increments alone, at RM225 a year, an officer starting at RM2,580 would need about 38 yearly increments to reach RM11,110.

Pay after 5, 10 and 20 years

Starting at RM2,580 at grade 9, with the RM225 yearly increment and no promotion. The grade maximum, RM11,110, is reached after about 38 years.

Years in gradeBasic, RM a monthWith fixed allowances, RM a monthFixed pay, RM a year
At the start2,5803,48041,760
After 5 years3,7054,60555,260
After 10 years4,8305,73068,760
After 20 years7,0807,98095,760

Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 SSPA scale, with fixed allowances at the Kawasan A rate, which do not rise with increments. Promotion, special payments and allowance changes are not included.

Compared with Malaysian pay overall

A new environmental health officer's fixed pay, RM3,480, is above the RM2,940 median for Malaysian citizens. The human health and social work industry median, RM4,698, covers workers of all grades and years.

FigureSourceRM a month
New environmental health officer, U9, basic plus fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSPA and JPA, 20263,480
Median salary, human health and social work industryDOSM, 20244,698
Median salary, all Malaysian citizensDOSM, 20252,940
Median salary, employed degree holders of all agesDOSM, 20245,724
  • The industry median covers all employees in the industry, most of them experienced.
  • DOSM figures cover all paid employees and all ages. The government figure is one fixed pay point. Use them to show scale only.
  • Compare your own pay with this scale, the DOSM figures and court awards in the Malaysia salary comparison.

Environmental health officers outside government

No official source publishes environmental health officer pay outside government.

  • DOSM publishes salaries by state, sector and skill level, but not by job title.
  • Private surveys and job ads use different measures and samples, so their figures are not mixed into the tables here.

Data sources and coverage

Government pay for environmental health officers is exact. No official source covers private-sector pay for the job.

SourceWhat it givesStrength
SPA service schemes U5, U9Starting basic pay by qualificationStrong: official and current
Budget 2026, SSPA pay scaleMinimum, maximum and yearly increment for every gradeStrong: official and current
JPA SSPA circular, Lampiran EFixed allowances by grade and areaStrong: official
DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey 2024 and 2025Industry and national mediansWeak for one job title
  • A payslip shows basic plus allowances plus any shift, on-call or overtime pay, so it can be higher than the fixed figures here.

Is environmental health officer work affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization puts environmental and occupational health and hygiene professionals in its “Not exposed” group for exposure to generative AI. Its scores cover the job worldwide, so they apply in Malaysia too.

Based on the International Labour Organization's 2025 index, which scores every core task of a job from 0 (AI cannot help) to 1 (AI could do nearly all of it).

Environmental health officer
Not exposedAI exposure
Not exposedVery high

AI can do very little of this job. Most tasks are hands-on or face to face.

  • Most exposed taskPreparing and implementing plans and strategies
  • Least exposed taskPromoting ergonomic principles within the workplace
  • In numbersNone of its 10 main tasks is one AI could do a large part of.
Environmental health officerISCO 2263
Not exposedexposure to generative AI
  1. Not exposed
  2. Minimal
  3. Some
  4. Moderate
  5. High
  6. Very high

Scored as ILO group 2263 Environmental and occupational health and hygiene professionals. Average task score 0.28, higher than 52% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.

Seven factors
FactorEnvironmental health officer
1Exposure levelThe ILO's rating for the whole job, from not exposed up to very high.Not exposed
2Average task scoreHow much of each core task generative AI could do, averaged. 0 means none, 1 means nearly all.0.28 higher than 52% of jobs
3Tasks AI could do much ofTasks scoring 0.5 or more. These are the parts of the job most likely to change.0 of 10
4Hands-on or people tasksTasks scoring under 0.25: physical, in-person or judgement work that AI barely touches.3 of 10
5How even the exposure isEven means AI touches most tasks a little. Uneven means a few tasks are exposed and the rest are not.Even (0.04)
6Most exposed taskWhere AI tools are likely to show up first.Preparing and implementing plans and strategies for the… 0.36
7Least exposed taskThe task AI can help with least.Promoting ergonomic principles within the workplace such as… 0.23
Most and least exposed tasks
Environmental health officer
Most exposed tasks
  • 0.36Preparing and implementing plans and strategies for the safe, economic and…
  • 0.36Providing education, information, training and advice to persons at all…
  • 0.28Coordinating arrangements for the compensation, rehabilitation and return to…
Least exposed tasks
  • 0.23Promoting ergonomic principles within the workplace such as matching…
  • 0.24Developing, implementing and monitoring programmes to minimize workplace and…
  • 0.24Identifying, reporting and documenting hazards, and assessing and controlling…
Compared with our other Malaysian guides
JobExposureAvg task score
Administrative assistantVery high0.59
AccountantHigh0.51
IT officerModerate0.49
Computer technicianModerate0.47
Information officerModerate0.43
PTD officerMinimal0.42
PsychologistSome0.39
Science officerMinimal0.39
ArchitectMinimal0.37
Legal officerMinimal0.36
PharmacistMinimal0.33
Customs officerMinimal0.32
EngineerNot exposed0.30
TeacherNot exposed0.30
DoctorNot exposed0.29
Agriculture officerNot exposed0.28
PhysiotherapistMinimal0.28
Environmental health officerNot exposed0.28
Assistant engineerNot exposed0.28
Medical assistantNot exposed0.23
RadiographerNot exposed0.22
NurseMinimal0.22
FirefighterNot exposed0.18
DentistNot exposed0.15
VeterinarianNot exposed0.14
Prison officerNot exposed0.14
Source: ILO Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (Gmyrek et al., 2025), CC BY 4.0. Malaysian jobs are matched to ILO groups by their ISCO-08 code; MASCO follows ISCO-08 at four digits. The ILO scores international job groups, not Malaysian titles. How we read the AI scores.
What it means
  • Exposure measures how much of the work AI could do or speed up. It does not measure job cuts.

What the pay figures include

Every figure is monthly basic pay or fixed allowances, before deductions.

MeasureIncludesExcludes
Basic salaryGaji pokok on the SSPA scaleAllowances, shift, on-call and overtime pay, special payments
Fixed allowancesITP, BISH, ITKA or ITK, and BIPK as advertised for the postShift, on-call and overtime pay
DOSM salaryMonthly salaries and wages of paid employeesSelf-employed and unpaid family workers

Questions

What is the environmental health officer salary in Malaysia?

A new government environmental health officer starts on RM2,580 basic a month (U9, honours degree in a related field). With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur the total is RM3,480 a month, in 2026.

What is the environmental health officer salary per year in Malaysia?

RM3,480 a month is RM41,760 a year in fixed pay, before any shift, on-call or overtime pay and before the special payments the government announces each year.

How does a government environmental health officer's pay grow with years in service?

On the yearly increment alone, basic pay at grade 9 rises RM225 a year: from RM2,580 to about RM3,705 after 5 years and RM4,830 after 10, before any promotion. Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 scale.

What is the highest environmental health officer salary in government?

Grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110 in basic pay. Promotion can lead to grade 14, with a maximum basic of RM15,360 a month (Budget 2026).

How much does an environmental health officer earn in a private company?

No official source publishes environmental health officer pay outside government.

What is the difference between U5 and U9 for environmental health officers?

U5 (assistant environmental health officer) is the diploma entry and starts at RM1,974 basic. U9 (environmental health officer) is the degree entry and starts at RM2,580. The U9 scale runs to RM11,110, against RM6,620 at U5.

Where do these figures come from?

Starting pay is from the SPA service scheme pages, the pay scale from the Budget 2026 establishment list, and allowances from the JPA SSPA circular. Private-sector context is from DOSM and Industrial Court awards.

MalaysiaMalaysia salary overviewPay by state, sector and skill MalaysiaNurse salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM1,974 starting basic MalaysiaMedical assistant salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,580 starting basic MalaysiaRadiographer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM1,974 starting basic

Sources

SPA service schemes, Ministry of Finance Budget 2026, JPA SSPA circular, DOSM
  1. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran Gred U5.
  2. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran Gred U9.
  3. Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A. SSPA minimum-maximum salaries, page A-1.
  4. JPA, Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bil. 1/2024 (SSPA), Lampiran E: ITP, ITKA and BISH by grade and area.
  5. DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025 and the 2024 report.