Malaysia’s Wiring Colour Code
Old Red/Black vs New Brown/Blue (2026)

Old vs new cable colours at a glance

The change is easiest to see side by side. The table follows the directive’s own table of old and new colours; earth is the only conductor whose colour does not move.

If you have read an older guide — including Suruhanjaya Tenaga’s own domestic wiring guideline GP/ST/No.39/2024, which still kept the old colours — it describes the middle column. Directive No.11/2026 is the later document, and it is the one that sets the dates below.

What ST Directive No.11/2026 says, and when

Suruhanjaya Tenaga Directive No.11/2026, published on ST's website on 11 June 2026, moves Malaysian wiring to the IEC 60445 cable colours: phase changes from red, yellow and blue to brown, black and grey; neutral changes from black to blue; earth stays green or green-yellow. From 1 January 2026 either the old or new colours may be used for new wiring, additions and alterations; from 1 January 2029 all electrical wiring must use the new colours. Where old and new colours are mixed in one installation, the distribution board must be clearly labelled with a warning ('AWAS') label, and every mixed joint marked. Note the trap this creates: in old wiring black is neutral, in new wiring black can be a phase — never assume.

A directive’s dates can be amended. The official announcement and the directive itself are linked in the sources at the end of this page; check them again before a large wiring job is priced.

Why you can no longer assume black is neutral

For decades a black conductor in a Malaysian home meant neutral. Under the new code black is one of the three phase colours, and blue is the neutral. From 2026 both codes can legally exist in the same street, the same house and even the same distribution board, so the colour of a wire on its own no longer tells you what it is. Situations where this bites:

• A house with its original wiring. Black is neutral, and red, yellow or blue are phase.
• A house rewired with the new colours. Blue is neutral, and brown, black or grey are phase — so a black wire is live.
• An old house with new circuits added. Both codes on one board. This is the case the AWAS label exists for.
• A new light fitting or fan. Its flexible cord is brown and blue, but the ceiling wiring it joins may still be red and black.

The practical rule for a homeowner is simple: do not touch fixed wiring yourself, and do not let anyone work on it who identifies conductors by colour alone. Electrical work in Malaysia must be carried out by a wireman registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission), and our house rewiring guide explains what that work involves.

Old and new colours in one house: the AWAS label

The directive expects mixed installations during the changeover and asks for them to be marked, not hidden. It asks for two things: the distribution board must be clearly labelled, and every joint that mixes the two codes must carry a clear “AWAS” label. Awas is simply Malay for “caution”.

The label is there for the next person who opens the board, who may be a different wireman years later. If new-colour circuits have been added to your old-colour installation during a renovation, ask for the board to be labelled before the job is signed off, and keep a note of which circuits were added. Our DB box upgrade guide explains what else sits in that board and when it is worth replacing.

Your appliance cords already use brown and blue

Flexible appliance cords already use brown for live, blue for neutral and green or green-yellow for earth (ST guideline Table 8.5), and flexible cable must not be used for permanent wiring.

That is why a new lamp, fan or appliance arrives with brown and blue wires even in a house wired red and black. The cord is not the fixed wiring, and the join between the two — at a ceiling rose, a connector block or an isolator — is exactly where the two colour codes meet. It is one more reason that joining a new fitting to fixed wiring is work for the wireman, not a weekend job.

Renovating, adding points or rewiring before 2029

What the dates mean depends on how much of the wiring you are touching:

• A full rewire. Either code is allowed until 1 January 2029, and only the new one after it, so a complete rewire done now can use the new colours throughout and will not need relabelling later.
• Adding sockets, lights or a new circuit. Either code may be used for additions from 1 January 2026. If the new work is in the new colours and the house is in the old, the board and the mixed joints must be marked. See adding power points for how the job is done.
• Surface or concealed? All wiring inside a house must run in conduit or trunking, whether on the surface or concealed, and surface wiring must be protected by conduit or trunking using PVC + CPC cable (ST guideline GP/ST/No.39/2024, paras 6.2(e) and 8.6). Conduit is filled to a 40% space factor and trunking to 45% (para 8.2).
• Your certificates. Form G (supervision and completion) and Form H (test) stay valid only while the wiring is unchanged; if additional wiring is done they are automatically void and new forms must be issued, and reissue for a domestic installation must be done by an electrical contractor and competent person (ST guideline GP/ST/No.39/2024, para 11.2(e)-(g)).

Colour is not the only rule: minimum cable sizes

A cable in the right colour can still be the wrong cable. The same ST guideline sets minimum copper conductor sizes by use:

Suruhanjaya Tenaga's domestic wiring guideline (Table 8.2, GP/ST/No.39/2024) lists minimum copper conductor sizes by use: 1.5 mm2 for lighting and fan circuits; 2.5 mm2 for 13A socket circuits; 4-6 mm2 for special power circuits such as air-conditioners, water heaters, cooking units and motors or pumps; and for the main circuit 10 mm2 up to a 40 A breaker, 16 mm2 up to 63 A and 25 mm2 up to 100 A. These are minimums — the wireman still sizes each cable for its route, grouping and voltage drop.

What the cable itself must carry: the ST-SIRIM label

Every cable used must be approved by Suruhanjaya Tenaga with the ST-SIRIM safety label embossed on the insulation, and regulated wiring accessories (switches, sockets, plugs, RCCBs/RCBOs) must be approved and carry the ST-SIRIM label (ST guideline GP/ST/No.39/2024, paras 8.1(c), 9.1(a), 9.1(q)).

You can check this yourself before the cable disappears into the wall: the printing runs along the insulation. Our electrical safety inspection guide covers the other thing to look for, cable sold as copper that is not.

Before you drill: where cables are allowed to run

Colour changes nothing about where cables are buried, and drilling into a live cable is a far more common accident than misreading one. Suruhanjaya Tenaga's domestic wiring guideline (para 6.3(b), GP/ST/No.39/2024) sets the permitted cable routes: horizontal runs within 150 mm of the concrete ceiling; vertical runs within 150 mm of a wall end or corner; no vertical run within 150 mm of a window or door frame; and the cable feeding a wall switch or socket runs vertically above it. Treat these zones as the places to expect a cable before drilling — but a detector check is still needed, because older or non-compliant wiring does not always follow them.

For carpenters hanging cabinets, TV consoles or wall panels the same zones apply: mark them before any fixing goes in.

Who can do the work, and what to ask for

Changing, extending or relabelling wiring is regulated work. Electrical work in Malaysia must be carried out by a wireman registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga (Energy Commission), and you can check a wireman’s registration on ST’s e-COS register (linked below). When the job is finished, ask for:

• new Forms G and H if any wiring was added or altered, because the old forms no longer cover the installation;
• the board labelled with an AWAS warning if old and new colours now share it;
• ST-SIRIM-labelled cable and accessories, visible on the insulation and the fittings.

How ClickBina fits in

ClickBina handles whole-house refurbishment and coordinates the trades for homes across KL and Selangor. If your renovation includes rewiring, new points or a DB box change, WhatsApp us your job details for a quote — we reply within the hour, and the price is flat, with no hidden charges. The electrical work itself must be done by a wireman registered with Suruhanjaya Tenaga; whoever does it, ask to see the registration and for the paperwork above.

Sources & official references

Every rule on this page is taken from the official documents below, each read in full when this page was written. Directives and guidelines are updated — check the current version before relying on a date:

• Suruhanjaya Tenaga — Arahan Penguatkuasaan Pelaksanaan Kod Warna Baharu Kabel (announcement, 11 June 2026) and the directive (PDF).
• Suruhanjaya Tenaga — Garis Panduan Pendawaian Elektrik Pepasangan Domestik (GP/ST/No.39/2024) and the guideline (PDF) — cable sizes, cable routes, conduit and trunking, Forms G and H.
• Suruhanjaya Tenaga — registering as a competent person: wireman.
• Suruhanjaya Tenaga e-COS — pendawai elektrik (wireman) register.