Psychologist salary in Malaysia

What a new government psychology officer earns

Starting basic pay at S9 is RM2,470 with a bachelor's degree, RM3,020 with a master's and RM3,350 with a doctorate. Fixed allowances add RM900 in Kuala Lumpur.

Pegawai Psikologi grade S9, from the SPA service scheme, with allowances from the JPA circular.

Sources: SPA service scheme; JPA Pekeliling Perkhidmatan 1/2024, Lampiran E (allowance tables). BISH is RM250 in Kawasan B and RM150 elsewhere. Totals computed by Foundific.

• A year at the start: RM3,370 × 12 = RM40,440.
• Outside the big cities: fixed pay is RM3,320 in Kawasan B and RM3,220 elsewhere.
• With a master's or doctorate: RM3,920 or RM4,250 a month in Kuala Lumpur with the same RM900 in allowances.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,470 at the start up to RM11,110. Promotion to S10 and above moves an officer 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.

• By increments alone: at RM225 a year, about 38 yearly increments reach RM11,110 from RM2,470.
• Promotion grades: S10 starts at RM3,840 and S12 to S14 at RM5,530 to RM6,560.

Compared with Malaysian pay overall

A new psychology officer's fixed pay, RM3,370, is below the health and social work industry median of RM4,698 and the RM5,821 median for all professionals.

• Health industry median covers hospitals, clinics and social work agencies, from attendants to specialists.
• 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.

Psychologists in private practice

DOSM publishes no figure for psychologists as a single job. The health and social work industry median is RM4,698 and the median for all professionals is RM5,821.

• DOSM publishes salaries by industry, state and skill level, but not by job title.
• Industrial Court awards name too few psychologists or counsellors to form a job family, so no court figure is published here.
• The pay scale above applies to government posts in ministries, hospitals, prisons and schools. Private clinics, universities and firms 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 for psychology officers is exact. Private-sector context rests on the health industry and professional-group medians.

• 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 psychology affected by AI?

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

• Average task score 0.39 out of 1, across 9 main tasks.
• Most exposed task: Conducting surveys and research studies on job design, work groups, morale, motivation, supervision and management (0.68).
• Least exposed task: Maintaining required contacts, such as those with family members, educational authorities or employers, and recommending possible solutions to, and treatment of, problems (0.26).
• 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