Bumiputera policy and the NEP in 21st century Malaysian politics : from bicommunalism to multiculturalism.

Abstract

The New Economic Policy (NEP), introduced by then Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, in the early 1970s institutionalized affirmation action for the bumiputera that privileged largely the Malay Muslim ethnic group. Since then, its aims and achievements have been evaluated and recent political discourse has included discussions on the relevance of the bumiputera policy and the NEP in Malaysia's politics of the 21st century. The calls for the retirement of the bumiputera policy and NEP have come from the non-bumiputera and also by Malay Muslim political leaders, including UMNO's President and Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Therefore, it is important to examine the relevance of the bumiputera policy and the NEP in the politics of Malaysia. More importantly, the paper aims to examine why the bumiputera policy and NEP must be retired in order to sustain multiculturalism, replacing bicommunalism, in Malaysia and the struggle against ethnic polarization within the country, and at what costs.