Average Chef De Cuisine Salary in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Chef De Cuisine salary for 2026 in Kota Kinabalu and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Malaysian ringgit. To keep things simple, we are using the MYR currency code instead of the currency symbol RM.

How Much Does a Chef De Cuisine Make in Kota Kinabalu?

A Chef De Cuisine working in Kota Kinabalu will typically earn around 67,120 MYR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 38,260 MYR to the highest average salary of 103,840 MYR.

These are average salaries for a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Chef De Cuisine to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Chef De Cuisine salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Chef De Cuisine Salaries in Kota Kinabalu

So we've looked at the average salaries a Chef De Cuisine will earn in Kota Kinabalu. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Chef De Cuisine can earn between 38,260 MYR and 103,840 MYR on average in Kota Kinabalu. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu is 63,500 MYR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 63,500 MYR, and 50% of the population earn more than 63,500 MYR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Chef De Cuisine salary in Kota Kinabalu, 25% of the population are earning less than 46,400 MYR while 75% of the population earn more than 46,400 MYR.

75% of the population earn less than 78,160 MYR, and 25% of the population earn more than 78,160 MYR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

Chef De Cuisine Salary by Experience Level in Kota Kinabalu

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Chef De Cuisine salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

• 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 43,260 MYR.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Chef De Cuisine salary would increase to 55,140 MYR.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Chef De Cuisine, the average salary would be 72,120 MYR.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 82,520 MYR.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Chef De Cuisine with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 92,720 MYR.
• 20+ Years Experience. For a Chef De Cuisine with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 101,020 MYR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Chef De Cuisine Salary by Education Level in Kota Kinabalu

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

• High School. A Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu with a high school education can earn an average salary of 57,820 MYR.
• Certificate or Diploma. A Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 91,960 MYR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Chef De Cuisine Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Kota Kinabalu, a male chef de cuisine will earn an average of 72,120 MYR, while a female chef de cuisine will earn around 65,760 MYR.

This means that a male chef de cuisine earns approximately 10% more than a female chef de cuisine for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Kota Kinabalu

Chef De Cuisine Average Pay Raise in Kota Kinabalu

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu is around 11% every 18 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Malaysia is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 18 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Kota Kinabalu for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Malaysia.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Chef De Cuisine Bonus and Incentive Rates in Kota Kinabalu

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Chef De Cuisine is a moderate bonus based job, with 51% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

49% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Malaysia earn approximately 11% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Chef De Cuisine

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Chef De Cuisine in Kota Kinabalu.

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Malaysia, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.