AA In Malaysia: History
- "Where some Malays did work alongside the Chinese on rubber plantations, their output per worker was less than half that of the Chinese... The frugal Chinese lifestyle, for example, was very different from that of the Malays, who were known for free spending and for going into debt for the sake of social celebrations"
- Despite preferential treatment for Malays under the British (free education, no restrictions on owning land, bureaucratic jobs), the Chinese outperformed them
- Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia is "one of the few times in history when a country has voluntarily divested itself of part of its own territory"
- More than half the officers in the Malaysian air force were Chinese in 1969
- Suppression of public questioning of racial policies has been "a severe limit on the kind of racial demagoguery that has torn other multi-ethnic countries apart"
- The 1969 riots (which justified the NEP [New Economic Policy]) were caused by angry Malays rioting in response to jubilant Chinese celebrating the UMNO-led coalition's close election victory (the coalition compromised in the face of Malay extremism)
- The NEP was supposed to end in 1990, but was replaced by the National Development Policy (the same under a new name)
AA In Malaysia: Practice
- Those who benefit from the transfer of corporate equity are "elites whose political support was important to the ruling coalition"
- The NEP is a way to dispense patronage: UMNO politicians' business enterprises get preferential treatment from the government
- The Malays were benefit are members of UMNO or relatives or proteges of UMNO officials. Those who oppose the coalition were cut off from benefits
- "Loans to give Malays preferential access to credit to start businesses became in practice gifts because of a widespread feeling that these 'loans do not have to be repaid'"; the debtors were also politically untouchable
- Of 314 companies set up by SEDCs (State Economic Development Corporations), in 1982 <1/3 made a profit, 125 lost money and 86 didn't bother to file reports
- AA primarily benefitted those who were already well off/well connected
- AA was not because the Malays were wretchedly poor, but because their relative standing was embarrassing
AA In Malaysia: Education
- The switch to Malay as a medium of instruction marginalised the Chinese and the Indians, who were used to being educated in English
- Most Indians seeking higher education left Malaysia
- In 1993, education in English at University was permitted in science, technology and medicine, where they lacked skilled personnel and they could not get enough Malays to replace the other races
- "Malay students, who sense that their future is assured, feel less pressure to perform"
- Educational standards have declined in the universities after AA's effects on student admissions and faculty hiring
AA In Malaysia: Economy
- There has not been much difference in the relative incomes of Chinese and Malays after the NEP (official statistics have used changing measures over the years), but income shifts were also affected by Chinese migration, urbanisation and the shift in the economy (from Primary to non-Primary industries)
- Between 1976 and 1985, $12 billion of capital left Malaysia, mostly Chinese-owned
- An early evaluation of the NEP was that "at most 5 percent" of Malays benefited from it
- The income share of the top 10% of Malays rose significantly
AA In Malaysia: Singapore
- "Some Malays express a preference for Chinese neighbors 'because they consider that the Chinese will not intrude or interfere in their personal or family lives.' Some Malay parents and children 'choose schools where there are more Chinese and few Malays, in the hope that the student will learn good study habits from the Chinese while also avoiding Malay company'. Chinese as well as Malay parents recognize such differences. As one study found:
Some parents note with pride that their children have mostly Chinese friends, because they mix with fellow Chinese students at school and avoid Malay company in the neighborhood. In the process of attempting to gain social mobility through education, it is not only non-studious children who must be avoided but Malay children in general, since non-studiousness is a trait taken by Malays (as well as non-Malays) to characterize Malays as an ethnic group.
While it is fashionable in some quarters to dismiss such views of groups as 'stereotypes,' the people who hold these views are in daily contact with the groups in question, while those who dismiss their beliefs are often far removed from the scene. Moreover, the same view is shared by both ethnic groups in this case." [Ed: so much for the reality of lived experiences]
- AA cannot be the reason why Malaysia has seen peace between Malays and Chinese, because Singapore doesn't have it either. What they both have is draconian laws.
- Malays in Singapore have better education and economic status than in Malaysia
AA In Malaysia: Conclusion
- "Extraordinary economic prosperity and growth, combined with extraordinary repression of free speech, can make preferential programs politically viable and repress mass intergroup violence"
- "Malaysia's experience is very relevant... to a widespread belief in some countries that ethnic imbalances can only be a result of discrimination against the under-represented group - and that any suggestion that this is due to a failure of the group itself to achieve the same qualifications as others is 'blaming the victim,' if not racism. No one is Malaysia has been in any position to discriminate against the Malays or to victimize them otherwise"
- Even when the University of Malaysia was run by Malays, Malays were underrepresented
- Mahathir "lamented the fact that bumiputeras are not serious in completing government projects because they tend to sell them to second, third, and fourth parties. According to the prime minister, nearly 85 percent of the projects have not been completed."
