Pharmacist salary in Malaysia

What a new government pharmacist earns

A newly appointed pharmacist earns RM2,910 basic plus RM1,650 in fixed allowances: RM4,560 a month.

Grade UF9 pharmacist with a recognised pharmacy degree, as advertised by Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (UKM) in 2026.

Sources: SPA service scheme, Pegawai Farmasi Gred UF9; Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (UKM) vacancy notice Bil 4/2026. Totals computed by Foundific.

• Allowances: RM1,650 on top of a RM2,910 basic. The RM750 BIPK is the same incentive doctors and dentists receive.
• A year at the start: RM4,560 × 12 = RM54,720, before shift or on-call pay.
• Starting point: every new UF9 pharmacist with a degree starts at the same point. Provisionally registered pharmacists serve their training year in government posts.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,910 at the start up to RM11,110. Promotion to UF10 and above moves a pharmacist onto a higher range.

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

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

• Increments only: at RM225 a year, a UF9 pharmacist would need about 36 yearly increments to reach RM11,110.
• Direct entry: experienced pharmacists can be appointed straight to UF10, UF12, UF13 or UF14, starting at RM3,840, RM5,530, RM6,210 or RM6,560.

Compared with Malaysian pay overall

A new government pharmacist's fixed pay, RM4,560, is close to the health industry median of RM4,698 and above the national median of RM2,940.

• Health industry median covers every job in hospitals and clinics.
• Measures differ: DOSM figures cover all paid employees and all ages. The government figure is one fixed pay point. Use them for scale, not as a direct comparison.

Retail and private hospital pharmacies

There is no official figure for pharmacist pay in retail chains or private hospitals.

• DOSM publishes salaries by state, sector and skill level, but not by job title.
• The pay scale above applies to government posts only. Retail chains and private hospitals set their own pay.
• 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 scales and hospital vacancy notices give exact figures for pharmacists in public posts. No official source covers private pharmacies.

• Compared with Singapore: Singapore's MOM publishes median pay by job title, age and industry. Malaysia publishes exact government pay scales but no market-wide figure by job.
• What a payslip shows is basic plus allowances plus any shift, on-call or overtime pay, so it can be higher than the fixed figures here.

Is pharmacy affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization rates pharmacists Minimal for exposure to generative AI. Its scores cover the job worldwide, so they apply in Malaysia too.

• Average task score 0.33 out of 1, across 13 main tasks.
• Most exposed task: Providing information and advice to prescribers and clients regarding drug interactions, incompatibility and contraindications, side effects, dosage and proper medication storage (0.50).
• Least exposed task: Storing and preserving vaccines, serums and other drugs subject to deterioration (0.11). The full breakdown is on our Singapore guide.
• What 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.

Related guides

Sources