ABSTRACT
Few Malaysian issues are as complicated and consequential – and at the same time, as inflamed and muddled – as affirmative action. To help us gain an informed, systematic and critical understanding of affirmative action, we need to dwell on the policy’s basis, the specific objectives and programmes under its banner, and the results of pursuing its broad range of interventions. Toward these ends, this chapter will:
define affirmative action and clearly articulate its policy objectives and instruments;
explain constitutional and socio-political factors underpinning its conception, in particular, Article 153 and the New Economic Policy;
outline specific programmes and outcomes, with a focus on contemporary developments and challenges; and
consider policy implications.
