TIPPING culture is generally not practised in Malaysia, unlike in countries such as the United States, which is why Malaysians are generally not obliged to tip.
The issue of tipping was recently highlighted in a Threads post after a Malaysian customer alleged that a delivery rider had requested a tip.
The request did not sit well with the customer, who wrote in their post:
“Has Western culture reached Malaysia already? I give tips when I want to. I don’t like being asked to do so.”
The post sparked discussion about whether one is obligated to tip service workers — especially when a tip is explicitly requested.
Meanwhile, others encouraged the customer to report the delivery rider to the company, pointing out that the delivery fee had already been paid.
“In the United States, customers have to tip because there is no service charge there. But in Malaysia, self-service shops can impose a service charge, which is unfortunate,” one user noted.
“Their income comes from their salary, not tips. We understand that tipping is an act of gratitude, but we don’t want it to become a norm or something expected. Regardless of whether they receive a tip or not, they should still perform their duties. We’re not just paying for the food — we’re also paying a service charge. And with food delivery, we’re already paying a delivery charge,” another user commented.
