Recently, a post on X went viral about how insanely high CEOs are paid in Malaysia.

The user wrote that the salaries of some CEOs can easily exceed RM1 million per month—that’s over 50 times most Malaysians make in a year.

As of Friday (2 May), the post had over 1.1 million impressions and 1,200 retweets.

This piqued my curiosity, so I decided to research more on how much top CEOs in Malaysia actually earn.

My my, the numbers shocked me…

The highest paid CEO in Malaysia, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, earned over RM200 million in 2022.

His monthly salary is RM16.74 million.

With Malaysia’s median salary of RM2,602 per month, it will take us 536 years to match his monthly earnings.

For context, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay is the CEO of Genting Group, a global leader in resorts, casinos, and entertainment.

In 2022, Genting’s total revenue was RM22.4 billion, while Genting Malaysia brought in RM8.6 billion. This means Tan Sri Lim earned about 0.65% of the combined revenue of his companies.

But these CEOs deserve what they’re getting paid for, right?

Nope. It’s not always the case.

From 2014-2021, Sapura Energy’s stock price collapsed by 99%. And yet, it’s ex-CEO was still receiving annual pay packages ranging from RM71.9 million to RM89.4 million.

Even as the company lost billions, his multi-million ringgit compensation continued.

To add more to how absurd this case is, Sapura Energy was eventually bailed out by the government, with Anwar injecting RM1.1 billion of taxpayer’s money to keep the Oil and Gas Exploration firm afloat.

Though a new CEO is now on the board, Sapura’s stock price has not shown any signs of life—and I wouldn’t be surprised if the executive pay hasn’t changed much.

Meanwhile, youngsters are earning the same (if not lesser) than before.

While Malaysia’s median salary has technically risen over the past decade, recent trends tell a different story.

From 2018-2023, the salaries of those aged 20-24 actually declined, while those aged 25-29 remained stagnant.

Things are only worse if you consider the fact that everything else (especially food) has increased in price. An average plate of Nasi Lemak now costs RM3.68, versus RM2.03 in 2011 - a staggering 81% increase in price.

One thing’s clear from all this: top executives are massively overpaid, while everyday Malaysians are severely underpaid.

But constantly obsessing over the gap is not healthy for you. It makes you angrier, frustrated, and envious. Is that really how you want to feel everyday?

In my opinion, it’s more important to focus on what you can control and take action based on whatever that’s within your capabilities.

Most of us will just have to accept the reality that we may never make RM17 million a month, and it could be a blessing.

The goal is to live a life where you’re less stressed about money, have time for your loved ones, and can make choices freely.

That, to me, is true wealth—beyond the numbers in your bank account.

What else can I do?

• Celebrate small and big wins you’ve made with money every month

• Define what “wealth” means to you and how much is “enough”

• Work towards your definition by building skills and upgrading your personal knowledge

“So I’m just supposed to accept and do nothing about those people that are earning millions per month?”

Not at all. I fully support those fighting for systemic reforms and pushing for fairer wealth distribution. That fight is valid and necessary.

But at the same time, we each need to choose where is the best place to put our daily energy.

My main point is this: instead of constantly comparing ourselves to others, it’s more empowering to look inward—to focus on what we can control, and build from there.

It’s a personal approach, and I understand that not everyone will agree with it—and that’s okay.

Thanks for reading. I hope you learned something!

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