This study explores the relationship between non-audit services (NAS) and auditor independence in Malaysian construction companies. It also examines additional control variables influencing auditor independence, including leverage, Big Four affiliation, financial losses, family ownership, auditor ethnicity, capital intensity, audit fees, and audit committee independence. Using descriptive analysis, univariate tests, and multivariate regression, the research assesses the potential impact of NAS on auditor independence. Data for NAS and other control variables were manually gathered from annual reports available on Bursa Malaysia’s website. Based on 147 firm-year observations from construction companies over the 2017–2019 period, the findings indicate that the combined provision of audit and NAS did not impair auditor independence. The empirical results refute the notion that economic ties between auditors and clients compromise the objectivity of auditors. Instead, the findings align with the knowledge spillover hypothesis, suggesting that auditors gain valuable experience during audit engagements, enhancing audit efficiency. These results have implications for policy-making in Malaysia, emphasizing the importance of considering NAS effects on auditor independence using direct audit opinion assessments. Furthermore, the study contributes to the limited theoretical discourse on knowledge spillover in the Malaysian context.