Affirmative Action in Malaysia

Abstract

The prevailing practice of affirmative action typically involves introducing measures to raise participation of members of an economically disadvantaged group in areas of education, employment and business, where they had been historically excluded or underrepresented. Measures taken are generally in form of preferential policies toward members of a designated group, based on criteria such as a particular ethnicity, gender, or religion. Precisely because affirmative action measures entail bestowing preferential treatment on members of a designated group, they invariably will generate controversy; in particular preferential treatment on basis of ethnicity and gender has generated intense, passionate debate. While affirmative action policies vary substantially across countries in terms of beneficiary groups, nevertheless, in nearly all countries beneficiaries are groups which are economically and socially disadvantaged and politically subordinate.1 Malaysia's affirmative action policy differs from those of other countries in one crucial respect ? it is the politically dominant majority group which introduces preferential policies to raise its economic status as against that of an economically more advanced minorities.2 The majority ethnic group that has power to legislate affirmative action policies and receive benefits from those policies in Malaysia are Malays.3 Conversely, it is Chinese and Indian ethnic minorities, most advanced economic groups, who have felt most victimized by affirmative action policies. Another unique feature of Malaysian affirmative action is that preferential treatment for Malays and other indigenous groups was written into Malaysian Constitution, under Article 153. In other words, affirmative action in Malaysia is a consitutionally sanctioned and exclusively ethnic-based policy where only Malays and other native groups are entitled to receive preferential treatment. Besides being written into Constitution, wording of Article 153 links ethnic preferential