PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s inflation increased at a slower rate of 1.8% in 2024 with the index at 132.8 points against 130.4 points in the previous year, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in its report on the Consumer Price Index in 2024.
According to the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database April 2025, global inflation was 5.7% in 2024 compared to 6.6% in the previous year. This is in line with Malaysia’s inflation rate, which increased at a slower pace in 2024 compared to 2023.
Bank Negara Malaysia and the Ministry of Finance estimated Malaysia’s inflation at 2%-3.5% and 2.1%-3.6% in 2024, respectively.
Along with the strengthening of the ringgit and the decline in global commodity prices, government initiatives to
regulate the prices of goods and services, as well as subsidies for certain items, to a certain extent have curbed Malaysia’s inflation from rising further.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all groups recorded increases in 2024 except for information & communication (-1.5%) and clothing & footwear (-0.3%). The slower increase in Malaysia’s inflation was driven by restaurants & accommodation services (3.1%); food & beverages (2%); health (1.8%); education (1.5%); transport (1%) and furnishings, household equipment & routine household maintenance group (0.7%).
Meanwhile, the housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels (3%); personal care, social protection & miscellaneous goods & services (3%); recreation, sports & culture (1.8%); alcoholic beverages & tobacco (0.7%) and insurance & financial services group (0.3%) recorded higher increases compared to the previous year.
The food price index released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation recorded a negative 2% in 2024 with an
index point of 122.0 compared to 124.5 in 2023. The decline was driven by decreases in the food price index of sugar (-13.3%) and cereals (-13.3%).
The food & beverages group, which represents the largest component of household spending in Malaysia with a contribution of 29.8% to the total Consumer Price Index (CPI) weight, recorded a slower increase to 2% in 2024 compared to 4.8% in the preceding year.
The slower increase of this group was largely due to the subgroup of food at home which inclined to 0.6% compared to 3.5% in 2023. In addition, food away from home moderated to 3.6% compared to the previous year (2023: 6.7%).
Mohd Uzir said, “Inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels recorded a significant increase although the headline inflation moderated in 2024. This was due to the rise in sewerage services charges by Indah Water Konsortium in January 2024 that offset higher operational costs. The increase in this group was also driven by the adjustment of water supply service tariffs by the government through the National Water Services Commission, which involved an average increase of 22 sen per cubic metre for domestic users in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, effective Feb 1 2024.”
Transport inflation recorded a slower increase of 1% (2023: 1.1%) mainly contributed by the subgroup of purchase of vehicles which moderated to 0.1% compared to 1.4% in the preceding year. However, the subgroup of operation of personal transport equipment increased higher in 2024 registering 1.3% (2023: 0.8%). This was attributed to the implementation of targeted diesel subsidies effective June 10, 2024 by the government to control the leakages of subsidised diesel. This measure sets the retail price of diesel at fuel stations in Peninsular Malaysia ranging from RM2.95 per litre to RM3.35 per litre compared to RM2.15 per litre previously. However, the implementation of targeted diesel subsidies does not include Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan and the retail price of diesel there remained at RM2.15 per litre in 2024.
