ABSTRACT
Malaysia has been governed by the same coalition, Barisan Nasional (National Front), comprising all the major ethnic groups in the country – Malay, Chinese, and Indian – for several decades. In 1970, Malaysia initiated a strong affi rmative action program under its New Economic Policy (NEP) to improve the economic status of the Malays who are termed Bumiputra (‘sons of the soil’), and to substantially increase their share of the country’s corporate sector. The NEP has been controversial. It was, however, applied relatively less rigidly than was feared. It formally ended in 1990, but several of the features, particularly preferences for Bumiputra, remained in most parts of the country.
