M’sians enjoy greater salaries, opportunities
By Vivian Yeo, ZDNet Asia
Thursday, June 05, 2008 11:43 AM
Opportunities still abound for IT professionals in
Malaysia, but higher expectations from jobseekers
could affect the country’s competitive edge over the
longer term.
Malaysia’s ICT job market has been buoyant, with brisk demand
for both experienced jobseekers and fresh graduates.
IT companies have also been actively investing in Malaysia.
Chipmaker Intel’s investment arm, for instance, recently forked
out 50 million ringgit (US$15.4 million) in Malaysia’s Packet One
Networks for the rollout of WiMax technology.
Malaysia is said to hold tremendous opportunities for software
vendor Epicor, while PC maker Dell has always considered the
country--and the Penang state, in particular--strategic to its
business.
According to the ZDNet Asia IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008,
salaries of IT professionals are commensurate with the strong
market outlook in Malaysia. Close to 2,900 IT professionals from
a range of industry sectors, job types and organization sizes
were surveyed this year--a significant increase over the 535
respondents for 2007.
Based on the survey findings, the average IT salary in Malaysia
was 72,144 ringgit (US$22,379), with those in IT management
commanding a high of 113,489 ringgit (US$35,204). Project
managers on average drew an annual pay of 73,912 ringgit
(US$22,928), while systems developers earned 56,393 ringgit
(US$17,493).
Tech professionals in the legal and finance sector had the most
attractive annual salary (US$25,188) followed by those in IT,
Web and telecom (US$22,939). The annual salary for IT workers
in the media, marketing and sales (US$17,444), as well as the
government, education and health sector (US$20,037), were
significantly below the industry average.
Compared with the rest of the region, Malaysia’s average annual IT
salary lagged behind that of Hong Kong (US$57,303), Singapore
(US$44,858) and Thailand (US$24,108). The country, however, is
significantly higher when compared to India (US$13,864), the
Philippines (US$12,425) and Indonesia (US$7,709).
Stella Thevarakam, regional HR director at ISS Consulting, told
ZDNet Asia that salaries are higher by about 20 percent this year.
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ISS Consulting is a Malaysia-based management and technology
consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of SAP and
SAP related products.
The rise in salaries can be attributed to more tech professionals
having certification as well as more companies tapping onto the
common talent pool, she explained.
Thevarakam added: “Total packages are also becoming more
expensive--people are looking for better insurance coverage
which includes their families, more annual leave, and other
benefits. All this adds very much to hiring costs, which gives
way now to hiring contractors whereby the costs are less [due to
fewer] benefits and lower salaries.”
While higher salaries are welcome, the downside is that Malaysian
candidates can be too focused on salaries. Thevarakam noted that
even though jobseekers have signed offers, they will not hesitate
to change their minds if they receive another offer that promises
higher salaries.
“They will leave and run for the next company that offers 10
percent more,” she said. “They also take [the employers’] offer
letters and bargain with other companies for higher stay-on or
[starting] salaries.
“I have recruiting experience in Thailand and the Philippines, and
I don’t see this happening too much there, especially Thailand,”
Thevarakam added, noting that if the employment situation
persists, “Malaysia would not be the competitive place to set up
IT businesses”.
There is also pressure on smaller companies to offer higher
remuneration and provide better training programs to attract
talent, as fresh graduates are more particular about their job
choice and look to join established companies.
IBM Malaysia’s HR director Chai Cheng Sheng pointed out last
month that fresh graduates lack strong communication skills, and
are not attuned to current market and business trends.
Attitude, not certification, drive salaries
According to the ZDNet Asia survey, IT skills most commonly
possessed by Malaysian tech professionals were in application
development, desktop/software, and operating systems. Slightly
over half of the respondents were equipped with application
development skills, and about 40 percent had desktop/software
skills.
Nearly four in 10 of those surveyed owned at least one professional
certification. The most commonly held ones were the Microsoft
Certified Professional, Cisco Certified Network Associate and
Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
IT Salary Benchmark Survey 2008
ZDNet Asia conducted an online survey between late-2007 and
early-2008 to gain insights into Asia’s IT workforce and salary
trends. It drew 21,635 respondents from sectors such as government,
healthcare, IT, services, telecommunications, legal and finance,
and across seven Asian economies: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

While IT professionals in the country are increasingly concerned Some 2,890 respondents were polled in Malaysia, about 60 percent
about being certified in their areas of expertise, Thevarakam said, of whom were in project management and systems development
having relevant certification alone would not necessarily guarantee roles.
higher pay. In fact, a candidate with relevant certification may not
produce quality work, she said. Note: In the following charts, MYR denotes the Malaysian
ringgit.
“People have become so package orientated that it is now
becoming difficult to find the right attitude with the right
package,” Thevarakam explained. “In the near future, I believe the
right attitude will earn more salaries than certs and experience. It
is already happening in many companies these days.”

Average Annual Salary by Industry

Industry

Job Function Government Media, Manufacturing,

IT, Web & Legal and
Education and Marketing and Services and Combined
Telecom Finance
Health Sales (non-IT) Others (non-IT)

IT Management MYR 83,571 MYR 128,364 MYR 120,870 MYR 94,183 MYR 97,950 MYR 113,489

Project MYR 66,831 MYR 76,402 MYR 73,094 MYR 38,384 MYR 72,581 MYR 73,912
management

Systems MYR 57,589 MYR 56,834 MYR 65,272 MYR 47,602 MYR 52,515 MYR 56,393
Development

Communications MYR 57,009 MYR 69,295 MYR 58,435 MYR 25,254 MYR 63,824 MYR 66,190

Support MYR 44,341 MYR 56,187 MYR 36,235 MYR 37,839 MYR 53,229 MYR 52,359

Other IT MYR 64,434 MYR 86,822 MYR 105,231 MYR 53,976 MYR 73,806 MYR 82,258
Professionals

Overall MYR 64,595 MYR 73,950 MYR 81,199 MYR 56,236 MYR 68,927 MYR 72,144

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 Average Annual Salary of the Top Five IT Skills

% of Respondents IT Skills Average Annual Salary

51.0% Application Development MYR 75,930

40.8% Desktops/ Software MYR 68,906
39.1% Operating Systems MYR 70,422
38.3% Servers/ Networking MYR 70,008
36.1% System Administration MYR 72,246

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 Average Annual Salary by Job Function and Employment Status

Employment Status

Job Function
Contract Full-time Combined

IT Management MYR 157,146 MYR 111,948 MYR 113,489

Project management MYR 81,409 MYR 73,305 MYR 73,912

Systems Development MYR 49,630 MYR 56,855 MYR 56,393

Communications MYR 81,691 MYR 64,871 MYR 66,190

Support MYR 46,120 MYR 52,750 MYR 52,359

Other IT Professionals MYR 46,341 MYR 84,159 MYR 82,258

Overall MYR 72,341 MYR 72,131 MYR 72,144