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Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs 2021 in Malaysia


The coronavirus crisis has caused dreadful economic effects and drastically reduced job opportunities and salaries in 2020, especially in agriculture, mining, construction where it has also shone a spotlight on jobs that are hiring. These growth sectors include financial services, healthcare, and services.


As Malaysia’s economy slowly recovers from its worst performance since the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, it is reasonable to expect a minimum salary increment in your current job or when moving to a new company. However, some companies and sectors are still willing to offer competitive salary packages to suitable candidates. The list below shows the top 10 highest-paying jobs in Malaysia for your reference.


Resource: Michael page



1. Medical Director

Receive up to RM620,000, a medical director is a knowledgeable and experienced doctor or surgeon who also work as medical leadership for all things allied to medical care in a medical facility, from monitoring quality, overseeing clinical peer reviews, developing and approving procedures and policies, to managing physician relations and helping with clinical patient complaints.


2. C-suite roles

Its role as the top stakeholder for their function, with high levels of responsibility, complex teams, and in some cases, management across multiple countries, those in the C-suite receive salaries of up to RM600,000. The salaries of Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and Chief Operating Officers range from RM300,000 to RM600,000, in disciplines from Financial Services, Engineering and Manufacturing, Healthcare and Pharmaceutical, and Technology and Telecommunications (TMT). However, remuneration for c-suite roles is also according to the candidate’s experience, company size, and sector.


3. Head of Shared Services

Malaysia stays as an attractive country within APAC for many companies to set their Shared Services Centres (SSC), especially if they have business operations within South East Asia. Their role is to manage all support services, including finance, technology, procurement, legal, HR, and marketing. Head of Shared Services Professionals can expect to earn between RM360,000 to RM540,000.


4. Head of Sales

The Head of Sales which is responsible for the leadership of a sales department within a company earns from RM360,000 in Business Services to RM500,000 in healthcare industries. With these skills, the sales directors supervise the strategic efforts of a company’s sales team and make sure the team meets projected sales targets. With the growth of digitization in sales, sales heads have to depend on digital transformation and at the same time, not lose the human touch when it comes to managing clients.



5. Finance Director

The finance sector in Malaysia is getting bigger thus, ensuring that the finance director or head of finance for any organization is key to moving the organization forward. Professionals at this level can anticipate making from RM325,000 in the healthcare sector, RM390,000 in tan FMCG business, to RM395,000 in a regional role, or in technology and telecommunications, and business services.


6. Head of Banking

The Head of Commercial Banking can request up to RM350,000 and for the Head of Corporate Banking Head position, RM390,000. The distinction between corporate and commercial banking is the clientele and the amount of money connected with it. Corporate bankers work with businesses, small and large, and therefore deal with larger loans, while commercial bankers work mostly with individuals and work with smaller loans. These senior roles usually work on strategies to develop the relationship between respective banks and customers and may include a regulatory and risk management focus.


7. Engineering Director

The director of the engineering guide the engineering department of a company. The role is to plans and directs all aspects of engineering activities from hiring and training new team members to manage engineering projects and budgets. An engineering director in different industries can be paid diverse amounts, from RM325,000 in the healthcare industry, RM480,000 in FMCG, and RM540,000 in business services.




8. Human Resources Director

Human Resources is more than an administrative support function that doesn’t cause profit in a business. It has changed to become a vital business partner to assist recognize problems in the corporation, develop and sustain employee engagement, retain talent, and plan for the workforce’s future needs. This is the reason why HR Directors are in high demand and can anticipate making anywhere from RM288,000 in the business services sector to RM330,000 in the FMCG sector.


9. Head of Procurement

The Head of Procurement needs a professional with a good network of contacts who has good negotiation, relationship building, and project management skills and supervise a company’s purchases. Earning between RM270,000 to RM330,000, the procurement head works together with the finance and logistics teams to set purchasing strategies and policies while meeting a company’s budgetary and other operational requirements. The procurement head needs a combination of market research, management, negotiation, and communications skills as well.


10. Head of Compliance

This position makes sure that the company and its employees meet legal requirements, industry regulations, internal policies, and bylaws. As the future of work changes in a globalized economy, managing bylaws and regulations becomes more complex. The Head of Compliance, who will need to have extensive knowledge about compliance in many countries in the region, can make up to RM360,000.



To earn the high salary mention above, one needs to be passionate and willing to learn as much as possible. We should always remember Rome was not built in a day, be patient, be perseverant. Therefore, come and sign up to Recruit Hero as we can help you to start your journey to a better future. What are you waiting for? numerous outstanding companies are waiting for you! follow our social media, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube Channel, and Twitter to explore more relevant best-matched jobs available for you in Malaysia.


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