Frequently asked questions-Part II

1. MVS: Let me introduce myself as MVS from India, working in an automotive sector.Had the oppurtunity to go through your very useful blog. I am in discsussion with European based MNC in Malaysia.The job location is Johar and they are offering 12,000 RM/Month.Planning to shift with my Wife.How good is that? How is the cost of living in Johar area? What are the additional benefits I can ask for`? How about the savings?(because in India Inflation is very high)

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation MVS. Johor is a state located in South of Malaysia close to Singapore border. Many of the Singapore based companies are shifting their bases to Johor in order to avoid exorbitant costs they experience in Singapore. Johor Bahru and Iskandar are the upcoming industrial cities in Johor state. Compared to Kuala Lumpur, the cost of living is lower in Johor. MYR 12,000 is more than enough for you and your wife in Johor. (I assume u have no kids). As far as addictional benefits, do ask if your company can arrange for a furnished accommodation as it is a major headache in Malaysia. If they can arrange for a company car, it would be an icing on the cake. You can expect to save almost half of your salary with a conservative lifestyle if they take care of your accommodation.

2. SK: Many thanks for creating a blog and using your wisdom to help and assist people in their decisions to accept the job in Malaysia. I totally appreciate it. Regarding my query, I'm getting an offer from a leading IT company headquartered in UK and having offices across the globe to join their Malaysian entity as head of their one vertical. I'm being offered 20,000 RM as monthly salary. This is the only salary I will be getting and any tax calculation will be done within 20,000 RM. Also, they are offering me free Medical insurance as I will be an expat. My queries are hereby as below - 

1. Considering flat 26% tax deduction from my salary, my net take home will be 14800 RM 

2. Is 14,800 RM enough to lead a happy lifestyle for family of 3. (We are living quite a lavish lifestyle in Mumbai here). 

3. Apart from my lifestyle, I have a liability of paying off my loans upto 1.5lakhs a month (8000 RM). 

4. So, I'm practically left with only 7000 RM for my monthly expenses in KL, where I need to basically pay off 

1. Rent

2. Travel

3. Food

4. Lifestyle expenses. 

They are also not offering me once a year travel to India as other countries do. Kindly let me know whether it would be a good deal to crack with.

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation S.K. MYR 14,800 is enough to lead a happy lifestyle for a family of three in Kuala Lumpur. (Now happy lifestyle is a very subjective thing but I am assuming it to be having a fully furnished 3BHK apartment, owning a car, kids studying in international school, eating out on weekends, travelling out once in a quarter.) Now , your second part is a bit worrying, deducting MYR 8,000 will leave you with MYR 7,000 which is pretty tight in Kuala Lumpur for a family of three (school going kid). You might not be able to splurge with that amount in Kuala Lumpur but you will be able to sustain with a conservative lifestyle. If you want to experiment with a life in foreign country then it’s a gud deal but if you want to live lavishly in Kuala Lumpur with MYR 7,000, I am afraid it’s not the right thing to do.

3. NK: I have seen ur blog and must say its helpful. Thanks for sharing the info. Coming to my purpose of my mail, I need your advice regarding epass and jobs in malaysia at the moment. I have 2.3 years of exp in java ..am planning to find a job in malaysia. I met a consultancy recently which says it will conduct first interview in india and next in malaysia...and the permit i get is for 1 year..and salary will be around 4000 to 6000 ...could you please help me by letting me know..if the job oppurtunities r good ..and about life in malaysia..

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation NK. Large number of opportunities exists for software programmers in Malaysia. India IT professional are given much regard in Malaysia and you can find them in all the sectors of economy. Many consultancies offer jobs in Malaysia but beware of the fake ones too. (Especially the ones which ask for advance money). MYR 4,000 to 6,000 is enough for you to sustain and enjoy in Malaysia. (I assume you are single). 1 year permit is the norm for the jobs here which can be renewed based on your performance.  

4. SB: I am Frm Hyderabad From Andhra Pradesh I got job offer in Malaysia.My Job Offer is 4500MYR.Iam Having 4 yr Exp in  Microsoft Technologies (Dotnet).I dont know where the company located but work place is in Kuala Lumpur. Right Now Iam Single Wont Spend Money alot. May Be Next Year I Will Marry So Plz tell me the living details for single person and hw much i can save for a month and if i married how much will i have to spend for 2. Plz Tell Me Cost Details For Food(if possible i will cook),room,transportation,etc. And Occasionally Movie In Theatres.Plz Tell Me The Details.

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog SB. The cost of living details for singles can be found out on my blog. http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012/05/bare-minimum-costs-foodshelter.html . Inflation is low in Malaysia hence the costs haven’t changed by much. MYR 4,500 is enough for you in KL but it would become a bit tight when your wife arrives. However, you can expect around 10% hike next year and might reach a salary of more than MYR 5,000. With that salary, you can live an enjoy a conservative lifestyle. (I define a conservative lifestyle as the one where you predominantly eat home cooked food, no or very less drinking, a decent but not very lavish apartment in a decent locality, and travelling abroad twice in the year). A tip-Shop for your clothes in India to save the apparel costs!

5. SS: I got ur mail id from ur blog, i wanted some info please help me out 1. I got a job offer for Malaysia, i wanted to know what is the avg cost of leaving in Malaysia per month 4 single person n i got a salary offer of 64500 rm per annum as a gross , is this a gud one pls reply me fast.

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog SS. The cost of living details for singles can be found out on my blog. http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012/05/bare-minimum-costs-foodshelter.html. Inflation is low in Malaysia hence the costs haven’t changed by much. MYR 64,500 is enough for you to sustain comfortably in Malaysia assuming you are single. However, please do enquire your employer about the tax deductions.

6. AK: I am an I.T professional with 10+ years of experience in I.T industry working in Oracle domain. I need a help/advice from you. Recently I have been hired as a Sr.DBA in one of the MNC (Experian Marketing Services) in Malaysia. This company is located in Cyberjaya Selangor Darul Ehsan. I have been offered between RM 13000 to RM 14000 PM. This job is on permanent basis. Also they provide 20 days of vacation yearly. We are a family of 3 ( Myself,wife and 2 yrs old baby). I have been earning a good salary in India (around 20 LPA). I have read your blogs about cost of living in Malaysia and found very informative. So kindly suggest me whether this offer is reasonable considering my current earning and expereince. Wondering will I be able to save anything after my expenses. I may have to travel to India atleast twice in a year. Not sure my expectation is feasible. Also I will be very greatful if you can give some information about the company and its location & transportation, locality, nearby city, and availability of vegetarian food as I am vegetarian

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation AK. Considering your salary to be 13K and converting that into INR makes it around 28LPA. By conservative estimates also the cost of living in Malaysia is almost 1.5 times that of India. That means 28LPA in Malaysia is around 19 LPA in India. I haven’t even considered the tax deduction. So this salary will give you almost the same standard of living in Malaysia. You can expect to save around 2K-4K only if you lead a conservative lifestyle. Experian is a known company listed on FTSE100 index so be rest assured. Cyberjaya is a satellite town of Kuala Lumpur located around 25-30km away from the main city. Vegetarian food is available in Kuala Lumpur particularly the South Indian food. North Indian food is also available in selected areas. You can stay in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur which is closest to Cyberjaya.

7.R.M: I am a Computer Science and Engineering Graduate fresher, 2013 passed out from JNTUK. The company people said that we will be having training in Aptech (a training institute in India ) Is it reliable company. So, what will be the chance for a fresher to survive there and what is the average cost of living for a single person to have a decent living with good amount of saving? Please help me with the credibility of the company. Is it really existing or not? And is it good to be in Malaysia for the 3000 RM?

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog RM. You haven’t mentioned the name of the company so I can’t provide you information about that. MYR 3000 is enough to survive in Malaysia but you have to live in a shared accommodation which will cost you around MYR700-1200. Go through my blog to know more

http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012/05/bare-minimum-costs-foodshelter.html

8.A.A:  I am a female physiotherapist from india. gt a job offer frm hospital( name didnt dsclose yet by recurimn agency) with 55000 inr per mnth. it also includes accomdatn,food n transport provided by hospital. i hv to answr for ds job within 2 days. is this ok to go for this offer with such package. n i m also thnkn abu switch off frm ds job aftr 2 years. is dat possble?

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog AA. INR 55,000 converts to MYR 3,000. Considering ther are taking care of your accommodation, food and transport, MYR 3,000 is enough for a single individual. You might not like the taste of the food they offer you so u’ll have to spend some extra bucks on fooding. But still u’ll be able to save around 2K. Regarding switching jobs go through the following link.  

http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012/10/switching-jobs-in-malaysia.html

9.RN: I am from Bangalore, An animator by profession ,Have about an year experience working here. I was applying for a job in Malaysia ,That's when I had to do some research about the cost of living and the other stuff about that Place. I just Came across your blog and found it very useful, So here is my question - There is this Animation studio called Silver ants ,Located in  Petaling Jaya,Selangor D.E . Wanted to know what is the cost of living there?  Is 4000 RM enough for a single person live there? and what about the tax system etc... I haven't discussed about the pay yet, Just taking the first step, So just wanted to be sure before talking to them . Hope to get your reply soon

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation RN. MYR 4,000 is enough for a single person in Selangor. Go through the following two links to know about the cost of living and tax structure.

http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012/05/bare-minimum-costs-foodshelter.html

http://costoflivinginmalaysiaforindians.blogspot.in/2012_09_01_archive.html

10. R.K: very happy to go through your blog. It was quite informative. would request some additional information. I got an offer from zenith infotech for C2H Position as PSS Analyst(Oracle) at kuala lumpur. I got 3.5 years of experience. and they are offering me RM 5000 per month. would request your suggestion.

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation RK. MYR 5,000 is enough for a single in Kuala Lumpur. You can go ahead with the offer if you want to gain some overseas exposure. However, go through the terms of contract carefully as many times there are very tricky conditions in the C2H contracts.

11.RT: Hello sir, I saw your blog... I want to know some details.... I heard that some agents telling they will give me a job in Malaysia (like in hotels etc....) they demanding approximately 2Lakhs.... I asked them how they'll send they replied that first they'll send me through visiting visa and with in 1-2weeks they'll offer me a E-pass... is that possible... so many different company agents are telling the same... can I trust...??? and the salary will be about 1200RG.... is this sufficient to live a normal life in malaysia..??? can you please conform me sir, caz this is challenging for my life.... so I'll b waiting for your reply... thank you in advance

Ans: Please beware of this scam RT. You may land up into trouble with these sort of companies. Besides MYR 1,200 is too less to lead a decent life in Kuala Lumpur.

12. SA: I was going through your blog and found it very informative that is why I thought of sending you a mail as I have few queries. Actually I am currently in Delhi, got an offer from Astrums Consulting on permanent basic for working with their client called "T-Systems" Malaysia. I have been offered RM 9000 PM and I am single and I have 5 years of IT experience. Job location would be Cyberjaya. So, just need a small suggestion from you, If this compensation structure is good enough for me. I belong to not that affluent family so saving is a must. So please suggest. Can you also suggest me the place to stay near by the job location, so that I could save time and money. Can you please tell me the income tax which I need to pay before 182 days of stay. As I was reading it said i need to pay flat 26% tax that means RM 2340 I have to pay for income tax every month? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Ans: Thanks for your kind appreciation SA. MYR 9,000 is enough for you to live and save money in Malaysia. Puchong is near Cyberjaya and you can get some inexpensive and decent accommodation there. You are right, 26% flat taxed will be deducted from your salary during first six months but if you stay more than 6 months that tax rate will come down to MYR1,200 per month. Besides that you can claim the extra taxes you paid as refund at the end of financial year.

13: AK: I have seen your blog on cost of living for Indians in Malaysia. I have got a full time job opportunity in AIG (American International Group) in Cyberjaya  Malaysia. Currently i am working in Fidelity Investments, Bangalore and have more than 3 Years of Experience. I have asked for 10,000 Ringgits per month as salary. Also in future i would like to relocate in India so thinking if i will get enough opportunity again to work in India or its really difficult to switch. Please suggest if its good to join, i have thought of earning more and explore my carrier onsite and to save a decent amount of money which will help me very much in future if i come back to India:) I am basically from the north India.

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog AK. MYR 10,000 is enough for you to live and save in Malaysia. You can expect to save almost half of that. Relocating to India won’t be difficult if you make the right connections. Though you’ll have to be bit moderate in your salary expectations once you decide to relocate back to India.

14: AM: I just came across your blog while searching about cost of living in Malaysia. I am a SAP Retail consultant and having 7 years of experience.I am computer science engineer. I am getting a job offer from Capegemini Malaysia. Thy are offering me 11,500 RM per month before tax cut. They will be providing me and my spouse with Medical insurance. No other allowances are provided. Work location would be PJ/Shah Alam . I am not sure if this is a good offer or they are offering less. Please suggest if this a reasonable offer and offer is as per market standards. Also if you can tell me the average expenditure per month.

Ans: Thanks for visiting my blog AM. Your offer with Cape Gemini seems good but I would suggest you to bargain for more especially if you can get them to arrange for your accommodation. You have a skill set which is very hot in Malaysia and can fetch you more. Average expenditure for a family of two would be around 3.5k-5K going by conservative lifestyle estimates.