ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1 the NEP trusteeship was described as an infant industry conceived for the collective benefit of the Malay community, which historically manifested a high incidence of poverty. In subsequent chapters we reviewed the poverty impact of the various policies initiated under the NEP. One of the major conclusions emerging from the review is that the NEP trusteeship system is subject to the inherent weaknesses of the infant industries: viz. (1) that the ‘infant may never grow up’ and (2) that it may skew income and wealth distribution in favour of non-competing groups who derive quasi-rents and other forms of unearned rewards from their influential and privileged status. More specifically and in particular reference to the second point, the trusteeship system may be enriching the trustees at the expense of the nominal beneficiaries.
