The victim, Wan Hassan Wan Embong, 71, died from injuries to his face and neck.
Wan Hassan was a former director of the information technology division of the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI).
According to Brickfields District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Anuar Omar, the break-in is believed to have occurred at 3:30 am, when the housing area was having a power outage.
"According to his wife, the victim heard some noise in the kitchen and was confronted by two men with machetes asking for money.
"The victim tried to put up a fight and was later hacked, even his wife was also hacked in the right shoulder.
"The suspects then grabbed some valuables that have not been ascertained before fleeing through the kitchen window," he said in a statement.
"The victim's wife, Sarifah Yusof, 70, suffered injuries to her right hand as she was hacked," said Anuar.
The case is being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
