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Optometrist salary in Malaysia

Gaji Pegawai Optometri

What government hospitals pay new optometrists under the 2026 public-service pay scale, with the allowances set by the JPA circular.

MalaysiaSSPA pay scale · Budget 2026DOSM Salaries & WagesRM per monthUpdated 26 Oct 2026
Government pay scaleBasic pay range / month
Entry, degreeOptometrist, 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, optometry degreeSee the pay breakdown →With allowancesRM3,480RM41,760 a yearBasic plus RM900 fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSee the pay breakdown →Top of grade 9RM11,110RM133,320 a yearMaximum basic at U9See the pay scale →
At a glance

Optometrist salary in Malaysia

What the job is: Optometrists and ophthalmic opticians provide diagnosis, management and treatment services for disorders of the eyes and visual system. ILO ISCO-08, 2267 Optometrists and Ophthalmic Opticians

  • Optometrist (Pegawai Optometri, U9): RM2,580 basic a month (optometry degree).
  • With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month at U9.
  • Pay scale: grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110, rising RM225 a year.

What a new optometrist earns

An optometrist 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
Optometry degreeStarting basic2,580
Fixed allowances, Kawasan AHousing (ITP) RM300, public service (ITKA) RM300, cost of living (BISH) RM300900
Total fixed pay at the start, optometry degreeBasic 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 start: 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.
  • Registration: an optometrist must be registered with the Malaysian Optical Council.

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
9Optometrist, 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
  • Increments only: 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 optometrist'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 all workers in the industry.

FigureSourceRM a month
New optometrist, 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
  • 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.

Optometrists outside government

The data used here does not cover optometrist pay outside government.

  • DOSM publishes salaries by state, industry, occupation group 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 optometrists is exact. The official data used here does not cover private-sector pay for the job.

SourceWhat it givesStrength
SPA service schemes 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 optometrist work affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization puts optometrists and ophthalmic opticians 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).

Optometrist
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 taskPrescribing corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses
  • Least exposed taskExamining patients’ eyes and conducting diagnostic tests
  • In numbersNone of its 7 main tasks is one AI could do a large part of.
OptometristISCO 2267
Not exposedexposure to generative AI
  1. Not exposed
  2. Minimal
  3. Some
  4. Moderate
  5. High
  6. Very high

Scored as ILO group 2267 Optometrists and ophthalmic opticians. Average task score 0.24, higher than 43% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.

Seven factors
FactorOptometrist
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.0.24 higher than 43% 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 7
4Hands-on or people tasksTasks scoring under 0.25: physical, in-person or judgement work that AI barely touches.4 of 7
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 (0.06)
6Most exposed taskWhere AI tools are likely to show up first.Prescribing corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses and other… 0.36
7Least exposed taskThe task AI can help with least.Examining patients’ eyes and conducting diagnostic tests to… 0.15
Most and least exposed tasks
Optometrist
Most exposed tasks
  • 0.36Prescribing corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses and other vision aids, and…
  • 0.27Consulting with and referring patients to ophthalmologists or other health…
  • 0.26Testing visual function using specialized instruments and equipment for…
Least exposed tasks
  • 0.15Examining patients’ eyes and conducting diagnostic tests to assess ocular…
  • 0.18Detecting and diagnosing eye movement disorders and defects of binocular…
  • 0.21Detecting, diagnosing and managing eye disease, including prescribing…
Compared with our other Malaysian guides
JobExposureAvg task score
Administrative assistantVery high0.59
StatisticianHigh0.56
AccountantHigh0.51
IT officerModerate0.49
Computer technicianModerate0.47
Information officerModerate0.43
PTD officerMinimal0.42
DietitianMinimal0.41
Town plannerMinimal0.41
PsychologistSome0.39
Science officerMinimal0.39
ArchitectMinimal0.37
Legal officerMinimal0.36
PharmacistMinimal0.33
Border control officerMinimal0.32
Quantity surveyorNot exposed0.30
EngineerNot exposed0.30
TeacherNot exposed0.30
DoctorNot exposed0.29
Agriculture officerNot exposed0.28
PhysiotherapistMinimal0.28
Environmental health officerNot exposed0.28
Assistant engineerNot exposed0.28
OptometristNot exposed0.24
Medical assistantNot exposed0.23
RadiographerNot exposed0.22
NurseMinimal0.22
Community nurseNot exposed0.20
Occupational therapistNot exposed0.20
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 optometrist salary in Malaysia?

A new government optometrist starts on RM2,580 basic a month (U9, optometry degree). With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur the total is RM3,480 a month, in 2026.

What is the optometrist 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 optometrist'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 optometrist 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 optometrist earn in a private company?

The data used here does not cover optometrist pay outside government.

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 MalaysiaOccupational therapist salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,580 starting basic MalaysiaPhysiotherapist salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,580 starting basic MalaysiaDoctor salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM3,130 starting basic

Sources

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