Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP), promulgated in 1971, established a two‐pronged
national social justice agenda of poverty reduction, and social restructuring or pro‐
Bumiputera affirmative action. This distinction of these policy objectives must be
appreciated, but various misconceptions, especially regarding affirmative action, have
resulted in polarization and stalemate after 50 years of the NEP. Social justice and
affirmative action must be conceptualized and evaluated with clarity and rigor, with policy …

Third, Lee correctly points out that the NEP needs to go beyond income, and the income gap
has narrowed and is almost on parity between Bumiputera and Indians. Keywords: D63;
J15; O15; O21 EN D63 J15 O15 O21 122 123 2 01/13/23 20230101 NES 230101 The
debate on affirmative action and the New Economic Policy (NEP) in Malaysia is
controversial, and often attracts mixed and emotional responses to its relevance and
achievements. Although the relative income gap has narrowed between Bumiputera and …

A key question is how one treats normative issues that inevitably come up. How one
understands notions such as “social justice” has long been contested. These are often
understood and invoked very differently. And how is a term such as “affirmative action”,
which arose in response to US civil rights struggles in the middle of the 20th century, to be
understood in other contexts? When first announced to the Malaysian nation in mid-1971,
the NEP was presented as being needed for building “national unity” following the divisive …