End Race-Based

Affirmative Action
Daniel Hung Lee April 3, 2016
In April of 2004, President Barack Obama
made his first official visit to Malaysia
the first U.S. president to do so in almost
50 years.1 While his goals may have been
largely diplomatic in nature, he also took
the time to address a long-standing status
quo.2, 3 Speaking to a group of students at
the University of Malaya, Obama
remarked: Malaysia wont succeed if the
non-Muslims do not have the same
opportunity.4 Certainly, this is hardly
controversial in the context of a modern
democratic society. Unfortunately,
Malaysia is neither modern nor
democratic, at least not in a meaningful
sense.
What President Obama unambiguously
implied that the country lacks the basic
tenet of religious and ethnic equality is
provably accurate. Indeed, one only needs
an elementary understanding of Malaysian
history to uncover the traces of
institutionalized bigotry masquerading as
affirmative action. The root cause of this is
a deceptively simple concept introduced
by the founding fathers in the Federal
Constitution of Malaysia, which was
ratified preceding national independence
nearly six decades ago.5 Under Article 153
and Article 161a, Ketuanan Melayu, which
translates to Malay political dominance, is
aimed at keeping Malaya as the land of
the Malays.6 Predictably, this has created
a clear class system in an ethnically
diverse nation, separating its citizens into
bumiputeras or sons of the land, and nonbumiputeras.7
In the early years following independence,
racial tensions gradually intensified.8 This
culminated in the May 13 ethnic riots of
1969, a landmark tragedy which took the

lives of 196 Malaysians, three-quarters of

which were Chinese.9 In response, the
ruling party at the time and in perpetuity
since independence, the United Malays
National Organisation (UMNO), launched
the New Economic Policy (NEP) in
1971.10 This policy was Malaysias
premier affirmative action program until it
was replaced by the similarly flawed
National Development Policy (NDP) in
1991.11 The objectives of the NEP were
twofold: reduction of the absolute poverty
of the bumiputras and an increase in their
participation in the economic system.12
While the program was successful in doing
so, it raised many problems consistent with
the failings of Ketuanan Melayu such as
incentivizing indolence among
bumiputeras and relegating minorities to
second-class citizenship.13 Additionally,
the eventual implementation of the NDP
was unnecessary, especially considering
that any perceived shortcomings of
bumiputeras had long been compensated
for.14 As a result, bumiputeras continue to
have privileged access to public-sector
jobs, business licenses, rent opportunities,
government contracts, educational
scholarships and admission to public
universities through a race-based quota
system at the expense of minorities.15
Today, not much has changed. When
current prime minister Najib Razak took
over as head of state in 2009, he pledged to
recapture the two-thirds supermajority that
UMNO (as a member of Barisan Nasional)
had lost in the 2008 General Election.16
Cognizant of UMNOs unpopularity with a
new generation of urban voters, he soon
spearheaded a nationwide campaign to
connect with the youth and their modern
sensibilities.17 1Malaysia, which is still
ongoing, was marketed as political
equality, inclusiveness, and an end to
institutional racism and carried the slogan
People First, Performance Now.18 For a
while, it seemed that the winds of change
were finally blowing, and the program was
well-received by its target demographic.19
Under 1Malaysia, Razak announced

ambitious reforms such as the deregulation

of NEP rules and the creation of
government-funded scholarships that
would be awarded purely on merit.20
Unfortunately, Razak failed to deliver on
most of his promises, and, earlier this year,
many of those scholarships were canceled
due to reduced funding.21, 22
It is now clear that drastic measures need
to be taken to free Malaysia of its
discriminatory past and begin fulfilling the
vast potential that a united people would
unlock, as evidenced by the colossal
growth and prosperity of closest neighbors
and former countrymen Singapore. To that
end, the NDP and its various
implementations of race-based affirmative
action that actively put minorities at a
disadvantage and establish an explicit class
system in a multicultural country must be
abolished without compromise.

Abolish the NDP

The NEP was billed in 1971 as a
temporary measure but its renewal in
1991 through the NDP ensured its
continued relevance today.23 The dangers
of doing so have been espoused by many
prominent figures, none more so than late
prime minister and mastermind behind the
policy Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.24 The
NDP has also been losing mainstream
support, as evidenced by the following
2008 poll:25

The biggest takeaway is that 71 percent of

Malaysians, bumiputeras or otherwise,
believe that race-based affirmative action
is incompatible with modern society and
needs to be replaced with a merit-based

option.26 The survey further revealed that,

perhaps surprisingly, 65 percent of Malays
polled were included in the
aforementioned 71 percent.27
Renowned Malaysian economist and
Professor of Economics at the University
of California, Davis Dr. Woo Wing Thye
likened the NDP to an emergency room
procedure that has outstayed its
welcome.28 In terms of solutions, he added:
I think Malaysia should switch straight to
an income-based social policy, basically
you want to help the poorest group of
people, so the emphasis now on the bottom
40 per cent, that should be the centre of the
focus, not race; whoever is in the bottom
40 per cent, gets preferential treatment.29
Synthesizing the information above, a
sensible plan can be formulated. First and
foremost, the federal government under
Najib Razak has to abolish the NDP and
race-based affirmative action. Simply
amending the NDP would not be nearly as
effective due to the negative connotations
and decades worth of animosity attached
to it. A new nationwide policy should then
be enacted to implement merit- and needbased affirmative action, with the minutiae
determined through a referendum.

Feasibility
Although Razaks 1Malaysia was
ultimately an exercise in lip service, its
message and scale proved that UMNO
were at least open to the idea of reforming
the NDP.30 This has escalated favorably, as
in the current political climate, proequality policies may be a necessity if
UMNO is to maintain its rule.31 After
losing even more ground to the opposition
alliance in the 2013 General Election, and
once again failing to capture the two-thirds
supermajority despite allegations of
widespread electoral fraud, Razak
conceded: We will work towards more
moderate and accommodative policies for
the country.32 With another general
election coming soon, Razak and UMNO

will be keen to make a statement of intent.

That statement could and should easily be
the abolition of the NDP, as it is consistent
with the wishes of a majority of
Malaysians.33

Consequences of Inaction
The continued implementation of racebased affirmative action will have severe
ramifications for the entire country. Most
noticeably, Malaysia already suffers from
an extreme amount of brain drain, which
will undoubtedly worsen significantly as
the average wealth and ability to relocate
increase with time.34 As it stands, one in
every ten skilled Malaysians born in
Malaysia choose to leave the country,
which is twice the world average.35 More
damningly, 54 percent of the brain drain in
2010 was concentrated in Singapore, as
illustrated by the following chart:36

In the same report, 60 percent of

respondents cited social injustice as one
of the top three reasons for emigrating:37

In terms of racial demographics, at least 88

percent of the diaspora were minorities:38

Needless to say, the brain drain in

Malaysia is strongly correlated to the
ongoing racial inequality caused by racebased affirmative action. This is further
corroborated by the personal anecdotes of
Nancy Goh, a Chinese Malaysian
expatriate living in Washington, D.C.39
Referring to the race-based quota system
for admission to public universities, she
wrote: I finished STPM with outstanding
results from the prestigious St. Georges
Girls School in Penang. Did I get a
university place from the Malaysian
government? Nothing. With near perfect
scores, I had nothing, while my Malay
friends were getting offers to go overseas.
Even those with 2 As got into
university.40 Fortunately, her story had a
happy and familiar ending: Based on

merit and my extracurricular activities of

community service in secondary school, I
received a full-tuition scholarship, work
study, and grants to cover the four years at
a highly competitive U.S. university.41

former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad

lamented that bumiputeras often take
university places for granted, causing them
to neglect their studies.45

Aside from the mass exodus of skilled

workers, race-based affirmative action also
continually produces substandard
bumiputera workers.42 The reason for this
is fairly intuitive from an economic
standpoint, that is bumiputeras are given
an incentive to not work hard and hence
are more likely to not excel.43 So much so
that nearly half the managers at
Malaysian manufacturing firms surveyed
by the World Bank said that the ability of
local skilled workers to handle information
technology was either poor or very
poor.44 Commenting on this phenomenon,

Conclusion
Malaysias race-based affirmative action
policy discriminates against minorities and
creates a clear class system in an ethnically
diverse country. It should be abolished
immediately and replaced with a meritand need-based program. For the first time
in the countrys 59-year history, there is
now a real possibility of doing so and
making significant strides toward racial
equality. Only then can Malaysia prosper
both economically and socially.

1 Parsons, Christi. "Obama Becomes First U.S. President to Visit Malaysia since Johnson." Los
Angeles Times. Davan Maharaj, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
2 Ibid
3 Ar, Zurairi. "Malaysia Will Not Succeed If Non-Muslims Marginalised, Says Obama." Malay Mail.
A.S.A.R., 27 Apr. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
4 Ibid
5 Balasubramaniam, Vejai. "A Divided Nation: Malay Political Dominance, Bumiputera Material
Advancement and National Identity in Malaysia." National Identities 9.1 (2007): 35-48. Web.
6 Ibid
7 Ibid
8 Giok-Ling, Ooi. "May 13 Ethnic RiotsMalaysia." Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Ed. Karen
Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 89-90. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
9 Ibid
10 Walsh, John. "New Economic PolicyMalaysia." Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Ed. Karen
Christensen and David Levinson. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 319-320. Gale
Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
11 Ibid
12 Ibid
13 Ibid
14 Ibid
15 Ibid 5
16 Chin, James. "MALAYSIA: The Rise of Najib and 1Malaysia." Southeast Asian Affairs (2010): 16579. ProQuest. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
17 Ibid
18 Ibid
19 Ibid
20 Ibid
21 Ibid
22 "PSD Scholarship Cut a Symptom of Institutional Racism, Malaysian Students in Australia Say."
Malay Mail. A.S.A.R., 2 Feb. 2016. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.

23 "A Never Ending Policy." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 27 Apr. 2013. Web. 17 Apr.
2016.
24 Lim, Ida. "Economist: NEP Has Outlived Its Relevance, Malaysia Must End It to Progress." Malay
Mail. A.S.A.R., 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
25 Teoh, Shannon. "Poll Shows Most Malaysians Want NEP to End." Malaysia Today. Raja Petra
Kamarudin, 09 Oct. 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.
26 Ibid
27 Ibid
28 Ibid 24
29 Ibid
30 Ibid 16
31 Grudgings, Stuart, and Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah. "Malaysia Coalition Extends Rule despite
Worst Electoral Showing." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 05 May 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
32 Ibid
33 Ibid
34 Roberts, Eric. "Putting the Malaysian Diaspora into Perspective." Stanford Computer Science.
Stanford University, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
35 Ibid
36 Lee, Thean Cheng, and Fintan Ng. "How Can Malaysia Stem the Tide of Talent Migration?" Web
log post. Rightways. WordPress, 30 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
37 Ibid
38 Chew, Clement. "Human Capital Development and Malaysia's Brain Drain." The Malaysian
Developmentalist. WordPress, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
39 Goh, Nancy. "A Malaysian Diaspora Speaks Up...." Malaysia Push Factors. BlogSpot, 6 Jan. 2009.
Web. 18 Apr. 2016.
40 Ibid
41 Ibid
42 Ibid 23
43 Ibid
44 Ibid
45 Ibid