PUTRAJAYA, Dec 24 — Selangor recorded the highest Basic Expenditure of Decent Living (PAKW) indices across household sizes, while Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis were among the states with the lowest, according to the Cost of Living Indicators 2024 released today by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The PAKW Index is being introduced as a new indicator to measure the minimum level of expenditure required to maintain a decent standard of living across states, administrative districts and state capitals.
The index uses Kuala Lumpur as the reference point, with a value of 100, against which all other locations are measured. Lower index values indicate a lower level of expenditure required to maintain a decent standard of living compared with the reference, while higher values reflect greater expenditure requirements.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the PAKW analysis for households in 2024 revealed clear disparities in the cost of living across states.
“For single-person households, Selangor recorded the highest index at 92.0 points, followed by Penang at 84.2 points and the Federal Territory of Putrajaya at 83.1 points, while the lowest index values were recorded in Kelantan and Sarawak at 53.7 points each, and Kedah at 56.6 points.
He said a similar pattern was observed for two-, three- and four-person households, with Selangor consistently recording the highest index values, while Kelantan, Kedah, Perlis and Sabah registered lower levels, though still reflecting a decent standard of living.
Based on the PAKW Index analysis, the reasonable cost of living for a single-person household in Kelantan is 46.3 per cent lower than that in Kuala Lumpur, while for a four-person household, the reasonable expenditure level in Perlis is 39.1 per cent lower than the capital.
At the administrative district level, Mohd Uzir said only Petaling in Selangor recorded PAKW Index values exceeding the Kuala Lumpur reference across all household sizes, from single-person to four-person households, while Pantu in Sarawak was identified as the district with the lowest cost of living required to maintain a decent standard of living.
Commenting further, he said the cost of living for a single-person household in Pantu is 72.2 per cent lower than in Kuala Lumpur, while for a four-person household, the reasonable expenditure level in Perlis is 68.1 per cent lower than the capital.
He added that at the state capital level, Shah Alam consistently exceeded the Kuala Lumpur reference across all household sizes, reflecting its relatively high cost of living, while Kangar recorded the lowest.
The MyPAKW 2024 calculator has also been updated to enable households to estimate their living expenses based on location and demographic characteristics, with the mobile application expected to be available from February 2026.
Previously, the media reported that the National Action Council on Cost of Living meeting on March 19 agreed for DOSM to develop a new indicator to measure the cost of living at the district level, aimed at assisting the government in formulating more accurate and effective programmes and policy implementation. — Bernama
