ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the dynamics of higher education reforms in Malaysia. It focuses on the implementation of neoliberal policies and affirmative action policies in the higher education sector and how these policies have had an impact on the education and employment outcomes since the 1990s. Neoliberalism implies a human capital view of education where the overriding goal of education is to develop human resources needed to meet the demands of the economy. The chapter describes on the political legitimacy, the state has to make social equity a political agenda such that education as a whole, including higher education, is seen as a human right. It reviews some of the outcomes of the marketization of higher education and the affirmative action policy in higher education with respect to access, quality and equity. The blueprint laid out the aspirations of the system and students as well as the road map for the transformation of Malaysia's higher education system.
