Asia · Meta market: Malaysia
WhatsApp Business API for Malaysia, from the first opt-in to section 43
Malaysia's data law was amended in three steps during 2025. For a WhatsApp programme the core is unchanged: get consent before you market, and stop when a customer tells you to.
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For Indian businesses selling to Malaysia, and Malaysian firms looking at InfiQ: how a WhatsApp customer journey runs under the amended PDPA, from consent to a section 43 stop, plus templates in Malay and English, DuitNow, and what a +60 message costs.
Malaysia in five figures
What the World Bank, InvestPenang and the Reuters Institute say about the market.
About 40% of jobs in Malaysia are linked to export activities, and Malaysia is more open to trade than nearly 90% of countries, the World Bank says.[2]
The World Bank describes Malaysia as deeply integrated into global value chains for electronics, machinery, chemicals and palm-based products, and aiming for high-income status.[2]
Penang alone recorded RM574 billion of exports and RM22.4 billion of manufacturing investment, across 232 projects, in 2025.[3]
National absolute poverty fell from 6.2% in 2022 to 5.1% in 2024, according to the World Bank.[2]
In the Reuters Institute's 2026 survey, 82% of Malaysian respondents had used WhatsApp in the past week, the highest of any network listed; YouTube followed at 71%.[4]
See it work
One customer, from first message to 'stop'
Step through a WhatsApp relationship with a customer in Johor Bahru and see where the PDPA's consent rule and section 43 come in.
The PDPA's consent rule is general: section 6(1)(a) says personal data, other than sensitive data, may not be processed without consent, subject to exceptions such as performing a contract. Ask for marketing consent separately, so the order relationship and the marketing permission never depend on each other.
Section 43 is the part customers use. It covers direct marketing 'by whatever means', so a customer who tells you to stop should drop out of every future campaign, not only the one they replied to. InfiQ enforces a STOP at platform level, even against later imports.
A Malaysian customer journey under the PDPA
- Customer+60, Johor Bahru
- Your businessTeam in India
- InfiQConsent record
Step 8 of 8Response
Your businessCustomer
Utility template: your order has shipped
An order update is not advertising material, so it can continue; keep offers out of it. Charged at ₹1.23.
- Request — solid arrow — a call that expects an answer
- Response — dashed arrow — the answer coming back
- Event — dotted arrow — something happened and is pushed out
- Async — double head — fire-and-forget, nobody waits
Step 8 of 8: Your business to Customer — Utility template: your order has shipped. An order update is not advertising material, so it can continue; keep offers out of it. Charged at ₹1.23.
Compliance
What the amended PDPA means for WhatsApp
The 2010 Act still sets the rules on consent and direct marketing. The 2024 amendments, in force since 2025, added duties and raised the penalties.
The Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709), as amended by the Personal Data Protection (Amendment) Act 2024, is Malaysia's data protection law. It covers direct marketing 'by whatever means' but does not mention messaging apps.[5],[6]
Regulator: Personal Data Protection Commissioner (Jabatan Perlindungan Data Peribadi)
Point 1
Consent is the starting point
Section 6(1)(a): personal data other than sensitive data may not be processed without the data subject's consent, subject to listed exceptions such as performance of a contract.[5]
Point 2
Customers can stop direct marketing
Section 43 lets a data subject require, by written notice, that processing for direct marketing stop or not begin. 'Direct marketing' means advertising or marketing material directed to particular individuals by whatever means. Ignoring a Commissioner's order under section 43(3) is an offence.[5]
Point 3
Since 1 April 2025: controllers, processors and higher penalties
'Data user' became 'data controller', biometric data became sensitive personal data, processors became directly bound by the Security Principle, and penalties for breaching the data protection principles rose to up to RM1,000,000 and/or three years. The cross-border transfer whitelist was replaced.[6]
Point 4
Since 1 June 2025: DPOs, breach notices and portability
Controllers must appoint a data protection officer and notify the Commissioner and affected individuals of personal data breaches, and data subjects gained a right to data portability. JPDP runs the breach-notification and DPO registration pages.[6],[7]
Point 5
WhatsApp's opt-in comes on top
Meta's WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy requires the person's opt-in before a business messages them, whatever the statute would allow.[10]
- A summary of public guidance from the sources cited, not legal advice.
Timing
One clock from Penang to Kuching
All of Malaysia, Peninsular and East, keeps UTC+8 with no daylight saving.
Malaysia is two and a half hours ahead of India, and Sabah and Sarawak keep the same time as Kuala Lumpur. One schedule covers the country: a 10:00 send reaches Kuala Lumpur and Kuching at 10:00, and leaves an Indian team at 07:30.
Utility messages such as delivery updates go when the event happens. Hold marketing for the shaded Malaysian daytime, and drag the slider to see what that means on your own clock.
It arrives at 13:30 in Malaysia — inside daytime in malaysia. Malaysia Time (Kuala Lumpur) is 2 h 30 min ahead of India today.
Industries
Industries with a WhatsApp job to do
Sectors the World Bank and InvestPenang name, and the messages each tends to need.
- 01
Electrical and electronics
Electronics is one of Malaysia's main global-value-chain industries, and Penang hosts chip-sector investors such as Intel, Micron, Infineon, Lam Research and Texas Instruments.[2],[3]
On WhatsApp: Supplier and logistics coordination · Shift rosters for staff who opted in · Safety notices
- 02
Palm-based products
Named by the World Bank as one of the products through which Malaysia is integrated into global value chains.[2]
On WhatsApp: Smallholder collection schedules · Dealer price notices · Payment confirmations
- 03
Machinery and chemicals
Named by the World Bank alongside electronics as areas of deep value-chain integration.[2]
On WhatsApp: B2B quotes · Order status · After-sales service booking
- 04
Retail, education, healthcare and housing
The World Bank cites retail, housing, education, healthcare and modern services as drivers of private consumption.[2]
On WhatsApp: Order and DuitNow payment reminders · Fee and class updates for colleges · Clinic appointment reminders · Property viewing bookings
Malay first, English alongside
Meta accepts templates in Malay, English (Malaysia) and Chinese, each approved as its own version.
Customer messaging in Malaysia commonly runs in Malay and English, with Chinese for some audiences; that is editorial judgement, not a measured split. Ask contacts which they prefer when they opt in, and keep it with the contact.
Replies inside the 24-hour window can be in any language your agents write. InfiQ's own support is in English and Hindi.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Malay | ms | The national language under Article 152 |
| English (Malaysia) | en_MY | Common in customer messaging; Article 161 protects its use in Sabah and Sarawak |
| Chinese (CHN) | zh_CN | For customers who read Simplified Chinese |
Prices in ₹ and MYR
What a +60 message costs
Lite is ₹999 a month, Growth ₹2,999 and Enterprise custom. Messages to Malaysian numbers are charged at Malaysia's rate: ₹7.56 for marketing, ₹1.23 for utility, ₹1.23 for authentication and ₹1.23 per service reply.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ RM 42.96 MYR
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ RM 35.83 MYR
Everything a growing business needs to run WhatsApp properly.
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ RM 128.98 MYR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ RM 107.48 MYR
Lite, plus the API, automation and team scale serious senders need.
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Malaysia · Malaysia
| Category | ₹ INR | MYR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹7.5644 | RM 0.325 |
| Utility | ₹1.2314 | RM 0.0530 |
| Authentication | ₹1.2314 | RM 0.0530 |
| Service | ₹1.2314 | RM 0.0530 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and MYR
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | RM 0.234₹5.4352 | RM 0.0984₹2.2874 | RM 0.0984₹2.2874 | RM 0.0984₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | RM 0.277₹6.4397 | RM 0.0140₹0.3254 | RM 0.0140₹0.3254 | RM 0.0140₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | RM 0.236₹5.4970 | RM 0.0257₹0.5981 | RM 0.0257₹0.5981 | RM 0.0257₹0.5981 |
| Chile | RM 0.336₹7.8162 | RM 0.0756₹1.7585 | RM 0.0756₹1.7585 | RM 0.0756₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | RM 0.0473₹1.0993 | RM 0.0030₹0.0706 | RM 0.0030₹0.0706 | RM 0.0030₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | RM 0.244₹5.6629 | RM 0.0136₹0.3167 | RM 0.0136₹0.3167 | RM 0.0136₹0.3167 |
| France | RM 0.325₹7.5588 | RM 0.114₹2.6393 | RM 0.114₹2.6393 | RM 0.114₹2.6393 |
| Germany | RM 0.516₹12.0088 | RM 0.208₹4.8386 | RM 0.208₹4.8386 | RM 0.208₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | RM 0.277₹6.4397 | RM 0.0983₹2.2867 | RM 0.0983₹2.2867 | RM 0.0983₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | RM 0.325₹7.5596 | RM 0.132₹3.0700 | RM 0.132₹3.0700 | RM 0.132₹3.0700 |
| India | RM 0.0406₹0.9435 | RM 0.0083₹0.1941 | RM 0.0060₹0.1402 | RM 0.0062₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | RM 0.155₹3.6133 | RM 0.0945₹2.1979 | RM 0.0945₹2.1979 | RM 0.0945₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | RM 0.129₹2.9992 | RM 0.0299₹0.6943 | RM 0.0299₹0.6943 | RM 0.0299₹0.6943 |
| Israel | RM 0.134₹3.1045 | RM 0.0201₹0.4662 | RM 0.0201₹0.4662 | RM 0.0201₹0.4662 |
| Italy | RM 0.300₹6.9847 | RM 0.113₹2.6369 | RM 0.113₹2.6369 | RM 0.113₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | RM 0.228₹5.3098 | RM 0.0681₹1.5824 | RM 0.0681₹1.5824 | RM 0.0681₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | RM 0.300₹6.9671 | RM 0.166₹3.8671 | RM 0.166₹3.8671 | RM 0.166₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | RM 0.325₹7.5644 | RM 0.0530₹1.2314 | RM 0.0530₹1.2314 | RM 0.0530₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | RM 0.150₹3.4877 | RM 0.0321₹0.7471 | RM 0.0321₹0.7471 | RM 0.0321₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | RM 0.157₹3.6425 | RM 0.0870₹2.0218 | RM 0.0870₹2.0218 | RM 0.0870₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | RM 0.604₹14.0494 | RM 0.189₹4.3987 | RM 0.189₹4.3987 | RM 0.189₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | RM 0.277₹6.4397 | RM 0.0129₹0.2990 | RM 0.0129₹0.2990 | RM 0.0129₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | RM 0.195₹4.5421 | RM 0.0254₹0.5898 | RM 0.0254₹0.5898 | RM 0.0254₹0.5898 |
| Oman | RM 0.129₹2.9992 | RM 0.0934₹2.1709 | RM 0.0934₹2.1709 | RM 0.0934₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | RM 0.179₹4.1620 | RM 0.0568₹1.3200 | RM 0.0568₹1.3200 | RM 0.0568₹1.3200 |
| Peru | RM 0.266₹6.1843 | RM 0.114₹2.6392 | RM 0.114₹2.6392 | RM 0.114₹2.6392 |
| Poland | RM 0.138₹3.2105 | RM 0.0460₹1.0702 | RM 0.0460₹1.0702 | RM 0.0460₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | RM 0.129₹2.9992 | RM 0.0454₹1.0547 | RM 0.0454₹1.0547 | RM 0.0454₹1.0547 |
| Romania | RM 0.325₹7.5596 | RM 0.109₹2.5436 | RM 0.109₹2.5436 | RM 0.109₹2.5436 |
| Russia | RM 0.303₹7.0520 | RM 0.151₹3.5173 | RM 0.151₹3.5173 | RM 0.151₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | RM 0.217₹5.0537 | RM 0.0404₹0.9401 | RM 0.0404₹0.9401 | RM 0.0404₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | RM 0.277₹6.4397 | RM 0.0605₹1.4072 | RM 0.0605₹1.4072 | RM 0.0605₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | RM 0.144₹3.3385 | RM 0.0360₹0.8369 | RM 0.0360₹0.8369 | RM 0.0360₹0.8369 |
| Spain | RM 0.267₹6.2161 | RM 0.0756₹1.7578 | RM 0.0756₹1.7578 | RM 0.0756₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | RM 0.277₹6.4397 | RM 0.0076₹0.1759 | RM 0.0076₹0.1759 | RM 0.0076₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | RM 0.0412₹0.9587 | RM 0.0034₹0.0792 | RM 0.0034₹0.0792 | RM 0.0034₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | RM 0.325₹7.5596 | RM 0.112₹2.6138 | RM 0.112₹2.6138 | RM 0.112₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | RM 0.217₹5.0537 | RM 0.0594₹1.3811 | RM 0.0594₹1.3811 | RM 0.0594₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | RM 0.240₹5.5795 | RM 0.0832₹1.9346 | RM 0.0832₹1.9346 | RM 0.0832₹1.9346 |
| North America | RM 0.0945₹2.1976 | RM 0.0129₹0.2989 | RM 0.0129₹0.2989 | RM 0.0129₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | RM 0.0851₹1.9796 | RM 0.0151₹0.3516 | RM 0.0151₹0.3516 | RM 0.0151₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | RM 0.319₹7.4057 | RM 0.0427₹0.9938 | RM 0.0427₹0.9938 | RM 0.0427₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | RM 0.325₹7.5596 | RM 0.0800₹1.8595 | RM 0.0800₹1.8595 | RM 0.0800₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | RM 0.280₹6.5048 | RM 0.0427₹0.9934 | RM 0.0427₹0.9934 | RM 0.0427₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | RM 0.148₹3.4490 | RM 0.0344₹0.7998 | RM 0.0344₹0.7998 | RM 0.0344₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | RM 0.224₹5.2054 | RM 0.0646₹1.5019 | RM 0.0646₹1.5019 | RM 0.0646₹1.5019 |
| Other | RM 0.228₹5.3098 | RM 0.0291₹0.6769 | RM 0.0291₹0.6769 | RM 0.0291₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. Compare the marketing and utility lines before you budget: the category Meta approves a template under decides most of the cost. MYR amounts are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees, with GST for Indian businesses.
Rates for every Meta market, plus plans and add-ons, are on one page.
See all plans and ratesOn InfiQ
On InfiQ, for a Malaysian programme
Consent leads, because the PDPA starts there.
Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Each contact's opt-in source and time are recorded, STOP replies are enforced at platform level (even against later imports), and the audit trail exports.
A section 43 request can arrive in reply to any campaign. STOP is enforced at platform level, and the opt-in record shows when and where consent was given.
Learn moreShared team inbox
Sales and service share one number, with roles, transfers and private notes.
Template manager and library
Malay, English and Chinese versions of each template, each tracked through Meta's approval.
Integrations over the API
Connect Shopify, WooCommerce or a CRM through InfiQ's API and webhooks for order updates; native one-click connectors are still in development.
Green tick application support
InfiQ prepares and submits the green-tick request; Meta decides who receives it.
Guided onboarding
Once Meta business verification is complete, a number is typically live in about two hours.
Getting started
How to start
Indian businesses can start today. Malaysian companies start with sales, because InfiQ serves India-based businesses.
From India
Start a 7-day Lite trial
No card needed. Connect a number and draft your Malay and English templates.
From India
Import contacts with their consent
Bring each Malaysian contact's opt-in source and date, and any stop requests you already hold.
From India
Go live after verification
About two hours once Meta business verification is complete.
Based in Malaysia
Talk to sales
Availability for a company based in Malaysia goes through sales.
Based in Malaysia
Know the terms
Billing in Indian rupees, customer data processed in India, and support in English and Hindi on India time. Weigh the transfer of data to India in your own PDPA assessment.
City guides in Malaysia
Questions businesses ask about WhatsApp in Malaysia
- How do we record consent for WhatsApp marketing under Malaysia's amended PDPA?
- Ask for marketing consent on its own and keep a record of it. Section 6(1)(a) makes consent the general basis for processing personal data, and the data protection officer that controllers must now appoint will want to see those records. InfiQ stores each contact's opt-in source and time and exports the audit trail.
- A Malaysian customer replied 'stop sending promotions'. What does section 43 require?
- Stop all direct marketing to that person. Section 43 lets a data subject require, by written notice, that processing for direct marketing stop or not begin, and the Commissioner can order compliance; ignoring such an order is an offence. Treating a written WhatsApp reply as that notice, across every channel and list, is the cautious reading.
- Do the June 2025 DPO and breach-notification duties reach our WhatsApp chats?
- Yes, if the chats hold personal data you control, which they usually do. From 1 June 2025 controllers must appoint a data protection officer and notify the Commissioner and affected individuals of personal data breaches. InfiQ is not your DPO; it provides the platform, with security controls such as role-based access and audit logs.
- Can customers pay by DuitNow from a WhatsApp message?
- They can pay from a link or QR code you send, not inside the chat. InfiQ does not offer in-chat payments; a template or reply can carry a DuitNow QR image or a payment link from your provider. PayNet runs DuitNow Transfer, which uses a mobile number or DuitNow ID, and DuitNow QR, alongside FPX online banking.
- Can we run Malay, English and Chinese templates from one account?
- Yes. Meta approves each language version separately, so one account can hold Malay (ms), English (en_MY) and Chinese (zh_CN) versions of the same template, and each contact receives the version they asked for.
- Is processing our Malaysian customers' chats in India a cross-border transfer question?
- Yes: it moves personal data out of Malaysia, so it belongs in your PDPA assessment. InfiQ processes customer data in India. The 2024 amendments replaced the old cross-border transfer whitelist from 1 April 2025; this page does not summarise the rules that replaced it, so check JPDP's current guidance.
- What does the green tick take for a business that messages Malaysia?
- Business verification first, then a request that Meta decides on. InfiQ prepares and submits the Official Business Account request, but Meta judges each one and decides who receives the green tick, so no provider can promise it.
- Do customers in Sabah and Sarawak need a separate send schedule?
- No. All of Malaysia, Peninsular and East, keeps UTC+8 with no daylight saving, so one schedule reaches Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kuching at the same local time, two and a half hours ahead of India.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. InfiQ's rates come from its published rate card. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Articles 152 and 161) · Constitute Project · read 2026-10-20
- [2]Malaysia overview · World Bank · read 2026-10-20
- [3]InvestPenang · InvestPenang (Penang state investment agency) · read 2026-10-20
- [4]Digital News Report 2026 (Malaysia market page) · Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism · read 2026-10-20
- [5]Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709), official text · Jabatan Perlindungan Data Peribadi (JPDP) · read 2026-10-20
- [6]Amendments to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010: dates of coming into force (26 December 2024) · Skrine · read 2026-10-20
- [7]Homepage · Jabatan Perlindungan Data Peribadi (JPDP) · read 2026-10-20
- [8]Homepage · Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) · read 2026-10-20
- [9]Time Zone Database, 'asia' file (Asia/Kuching, Asia/Kuala_Lumpur, Asia/Kolkata) · IANA · read 2026-10-20
- [10]WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (updated 23 September 2026) · WhatsApp (Meta) · read 2026-10-20
Start with consent you can show
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and import your Malaysian opt-ins with their records. Companies based in Malaysia: talk to sales about availability.
