There's no official figure for a personal driver salary in Malaysia. It's whatever you and the driver agree, and we're not going to print a "going rate" we can't back up. What's fixed is everything around the salary: the social security you must register and pay, the leave you must cover, and the paperwork if the driver isn't Malaysian. That part is the same for every household, and it's where employing a driver and booking one by the day differ.
Even the minimum wage may not apply
Malaysia's minimum wage is RM 1,700 a month, for all employers since 1 August 2025, under the Minimum Wages Order 2024 (as at 2026; the government has been reviewing the rate, so check for a newer order). That order does not apply to domestic servants, the legal term the Employment Act used for people employed to work in a private home. The Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 renamed them "domestic employees".
Which side of that line your driver falls on depends on who employs them and why. A driver employed by your household to drive the family is in a different position from a driver employed by your company. If you're unsure which applies, ask the Labour Department (JTKSM) before you draw up the contract. Either way, a salary set well below what other driving jobs pay won't keep a good driver for long.
What you owe on top of the salary
PERKESO (SOCSO)
PERKESO lists "personal driver" among domestic workers. Registration and monthly contributions are mandatory for the employer, and PERKESO says failing to comply can bring a fine of up to RM 10,000, up to two years in prison, or both (as at 2026).
For a Malaysian, permanent resident or temporary resident driver, contributions cover three schemes:
| Scheme | Employer pays | Employee pays |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Injury | 1.25% of wages | Nothing |
| Invalidity | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Employment Insurance System | 0.2% | 0.2% |
A foreign domestic worker is covered under the Employment Injury and Invalidity schemes only. You pay monthly through PERKESO's ASSIST portal.
EPF (KWSP)
Here households get a break. As at 2026, domestic employees are not covered by mandatory EPF contributions, so a household employer has no legal duty to contribute. The driver can choose to join voluntarily. A driver employed by a registered business is a different case: the company is then an ordinary employer, with the usual EPF duties.
Leave, sick days and cover
When your driver is on leave, off sick or has resigned, someone else drives. In practice that means you, a relative, or paying for a replacement. It's the cost people forget when they compare a salary with a day rate.
A foreign driver
Employing a non-Malaysian brings immigration work-pass rules on top. Under the Employment Act, an employer of a foreign employee must give the Labour Department the employee's particulars within 14 days of employing them, and tell it within 30 days when the employment ends (as at 2026).
Insurance and the car itself
Your motor insurance has to cover someone else driving your car. Check the policy's driver clause with your insurer before the first day. The running costs of the car stay yours either way. Our guide to the cost of owning a car in Malaysia lists them.
Employing a driver vs booking one
| Employing your own | Grandpride driver service | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay | A monthly salary you negotiate | RM 385 per 8-hour day |
| Long days | Overtime under your contract | RM 40 an hour, RM 50 an hour after midnight |
| PERKESO and EPF | Your responsibility | Not yours: you book a service, you don't employ |
| Finding and checking the driver | You | Grandpride, with personnel who typically come from military and law-enforcement backgrounds |
| Leave and sickness | You arrange cover | CHECK: how Grandpride covers a regular driver's leave or sickness |
| Commitment | An employment contract, notice periods | A booking, by the day |
The Grandpride driver drives your own car, door to door, with unlimited stops. If you also want protection, a driver cum bodyguard is RM 495 per 8-hour day.
Which makes more sense
For a fair comparison, add up a year of employing: the salary you'd offer, the PERKESO share, overtime, and the days of cover when your driver is away. Set it against the days you'd actually book a driver. Someone who needs a driver five or six days a week, every week, is in a different place from a family that needs one for hospital visits twice a week, or a director who needs one on event days.
If you're closer to the family or the director, booking by the day avoids the employer side altogether. Our guide to a driver for elderly parents shows how that works for appointments, and hiring a driver for your car covers one-off days. If you need someone most days, monthly driver service works through the monthly arithmetic CHECK: whether Grandpride offers a monthly rate for a regular driver.
Grandpride's driver and bodyguard page has the full rates. When you know the days you need, send them through the driver request form.
