ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of Malay preferential policies on the formation of a middle ground between Malay hegemony (assimilation-based national identity) and equality (multiculturalism-based national identity). This examination demonstrates that these policies influence the direction of several other policies, including those on education, and that some Chinese groups, which are single-mindedly concerned with Chinese interests and identity, strongly oppose these policies. Even when the government indicated the relaxation of its Malay preferential stance, these groups were not satisfied with the magnitude of the government’s policy shift. The groups view Malay preferential policies only in black (continuation) and white (elimination) terms. This perspective indicates that a middle ground in education policies cannot be formed as long as Malay preferential policies exist. Additionally, this chapter examines whether Malay preferential policies are sustainable by considering the tensions between the government and the non-Malay community over these policies since the late 1990s. The direction of Malay preferential policies remains unclear; however, the policies will not, apparently, be abolished in the near future. Therefore, forming a middle ground in the foreseeable future is considered impossible.
