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Land surveyor salary in Malaysia

Gaji JuruukurGaji Penolong Juruukur

What the federal public service pays new land surveyors 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 30 Oct 2026
Government pay scaleBasic pay range / month
Entry, certificate or diplomaAssistant surveyor, JA5RM1,650–6,620Entry, degreeLand surveyor, J9RM2,250–11,110PromotionGrade 10RM3,840–12,150SeniorGrade 12RM5,530–13,540SeniorGrade 14RM6,560–15,360
Minimum to maximum basicScale RM0 to RM16kSSPA pay scale, Budget 2026
Starting basicRM2,690RM32,280 a yearJ9, honours degree in land surveying or geomaticsSee the pay breakdown →With allowancesRM3,590RM43,080 a yearBasic plus RM900 fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSee the pay breakdown →With a diplomaRM2,055RM24,660 a yearJA5, RM2,865 with allowances, Kuala LumpurSee every entry level →Top of grade 9RM11,110RM133,320 a yearMaximum basic at J9See the pay scale →
At a glance

Land surveyor salary in Malaysia

What the job is: Cartographers and surveyors determine the exact position of, or prepare and revise digital, graphic and pictorial maps, charts or other visual representation of, natural and constructed features and boundaries of land, seas, underground areas and celestial bodies, applying scientific and mathematical principles. ILO ISCO-08, 2165 Cartographers and Surveyors

  • Land surveyor (Juruukur, J9): RM2,690 basic a month (honours degree in land surveying or geomatics).
  • With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,590 a month at J9.
  • Assistant surveyor (JA5): RM1,731 basic (land surveying certificate), RM2,541 with allowances in Kuala Lumpur.
  • Pay scale: grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110, rising RM225 a year.

What a new land surveyor earns

A land surveyor at J9 starts on RM2,690 basic, plus RM900 in fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,590 a month.

Grade J9, from the SPA service scheme and the JPA allowance circular.

Qualification or pay itemGrade J9RM a month
Honours degree in land surveying or geomaticsStarting basic2,690
Fixed allowances, Kawasan AHousing (ITP) RM300, public service (ITKA) RM300, cost of living (BISH) RM300900
Total fixed pay at the start, honours degree in land surveying or geomaticsBasic plus fixed allowances, Kawasan A3,590

Sources: SPA scheme page for grade J9; JPA Pekeliling Perkhidmatan 1/2024, Lampiran E. BISH is lower outside Kawasan A. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • A year at the start: RM3,590 × 12 = RM43,080.
  • Allowances counted here are the fixed ones in the JPA circular. Any allowance tied to a particular post is not included.
  • The SPA page lists the J9 duties as survey work such as control surveys, land acquisition surveys, urban and rural area surveys, and first and second class surveys for issuing land titles.
  • Route to land surveyor (J9): serving assistant surveyors may be considered for appointment at J9 when a post is vacant, after confirmation in service, if they have the J9 qualification or pass the Certificate of Competency examination of the Land Surveyors Board.
  • The officer must also be under 54 if the retirement age is 55 or 56, under 56 if 58, or under 58 if 60, on the appointment date. The JA5 page lists only assistants with outstanding performance (prestasi yang cemerlang).

How to become a land surveyor

Assistant surveyors enter at JA5 and land surveyors at J9, depending on the qualification.

Entry levelQualificationStarting basic, RMWith allowances, RM
Assistant surveyor (Penolong Juruukur, JA5)Land surveying certificate1,7312,541
Assistant surveyor (Penolong Juruukur, JA5)Diploma in land surveying or in geomatics2,0552,865
Land surveyor (Juruukur, J9)Honours degree in land surveying or geomatics2,6903,590

Source: SPA scheme pages. Allowances from the JPA circular, Kawasan A: JA5 RM810, J9 RM900. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • Each qualification must be recognised by the Government, or be an equivalent recognised qualification.
  • Bahasa Melayu: entry needs a credit (at least grade C) in Bahasa Melayu at SPM or SVM, or an equivalent qualification recognised by the Government.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,250 up to RM11,110. Higher grades in the same scheme have higher ranges. Promotion needs a vacancy and the conditions set in the scheme.

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

GradeWhoMinimumMaximumYearly increment
5Assistant surveyor, entry with a certificate or diploma1,6506,620145
9Land surveyor, 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
  • The yearly increment at grade 9 is RM225, up to the maximum of RM11,110.

Pay after 5, 10 and 20 years

Starting at RM2,690 at grade 9, with the RM225 yearly increment and no promotion. The grade maximum, RM11,110, is reached after about 37 years.

Years in gradeBasic, RM a monthWith fixed allowances, RM a monthFixed pay, RM a year
At the start2,6903,59043,080
After 5 years3,8154,71556,580
After 10 years4,9405,84070,080
After 20 years7,1908,09097,080

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 land surveyor's fixed pay, RM3,590, is above the RM2,940 median for Malaysian citizens and below the professional, scientific and technical industry median, RM3,677. Both medians cover all employees in their group.

FigureSourceRM a month
New land surveyor, J9, basic plus fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSPA and JPA, 20263,590
Median salary, professional, scientific and technical industryDOSM, 20243,677
Median salary, all Malaysian citizensDOSM, 20252,940
Median salary, employed degree holders of all agesDOSM, 20245,724
  • Industry median covers all employees in the industry.
  • 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.

Land surveyors outside government

The data used here does not cover land surveyor pay outside government.

  • DOSM publishes salaries by industry, occupation group and skill level.
  • Pay outside government for this job is not in these sources, so no figure is given.

Data sources and coverage

Starting basic pay and the pay scale for land surveyors come from the SPA and the Budget 2026 establishment list. The data used here does not cover private-sector pay for the job.

SourceWhat it givesStrength
SPA service schemes JA5, J9Starting 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 land surveyor work affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization puts cartographers and surveyors in its “Moderate” 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).

Land surveyor
ModerateAI exposure
Not exposedVery high

AI can speed up a fair share of the work, so the job is likely to change.

  • Most exposed taskNoting exact position of various features
  • Least exposed taskSurveying, measuring and describing land surfaces, mines
  • In numbersAI could do a large part of 3 of its 8 main tasks.
Land surveyorISCO 2165
Moderateexposure to generative AI
  1. Not exposed
  2. Minimal
  3. Some
  4. Moderate
  5. High
  6. Very high

Scored as ILO group 2165 Cartographers and surveyors. Average task score 0.44, higher than 81% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.

Seven factors
FactorLand surveyor
1Exposure levelModerate
2Average task score0.44 higher than 81% of jobs
3Tasks AI could do much of3 of 8
4Hands-on or people tasks1 of 8
5How even the exposure isMixed (0.11)
6Most exposed taskNoting exact position of various features and recording… 0.60
7Least exposed taskSurveying, measuring and describing land surfaces, mines… 0.21
Most and least exposed tasks
Land surveyor
Most exposed tasks
  • 0.60Noting exact position of various features and recording survey data in…
  • 0.53Designing, compiling and revising maps and charts using aerial and other…
  • 0.50Studying and advising on technical, aesthetic and economic aspects of map…
Least exposed tasks
  • 0.21Surveying, measuring and describing land surfaces, mines, underground…
  • 0.38Planning and conducting aerial photographic surveys
  • 0.39Maintaining technical liaison and consultancy with other relevant specialists

What each factor means · How this job compares with the other salary guides

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 land surveyor salary in Malaysia?

A new government land surveyor starts on RM2,690 basic a month (J9, honours degree in land surveying or geomatics). With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur the total is RM3,590 a month, in 2026.

What is the land surveyor salary per year in Malaysia?

RM3,590 a month is RM43,080 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 land surveyor's pay grow with years in service?

On the yearly increment alone, basic pay at grade 9 rises RM225 a year: from RM2,690 to about RM3,815 after 5 years and RM4,940 after 10, before any promotion. Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 scale.

What is the highest land surveyor 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 a land surveyor earn in a private company?

The data used here does not cover land surveyor pay outside government.

What is the difference between JA5 and J9 for land surveyors?

JA5 (assistant surveyor) is the certificate or diploma entry and starts at RM1,731 basic, or RM2,055 with a diploma. J9 (land surveyor) is the degree entry and starts at RM2,690. The J9 scale runs to RM11,110, against RM6,620 at JA5.

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 MalaysiaQuantity surveyor salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,690 starting basic MalaysiaTown planner salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,690 starting basic MalaysiaEngineer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,690 starting basic

Sources

SPA service schemes, Ministry of Finance Budget 2026, JPA SSPA circular, DOSM
  1. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Penolong Juruukur Gred Ja5.
  2. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Juruukur Gred J9.
  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, BISH and BIPK by grade and area.
  5. DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025 and the 2024 report.
  6. DOSM, Graduates Statistics 2024: median salary of degree holders.