Background Malaysia: Malaysia is a multiracial country in Southeastern Asia that contains many ethnic groups within the country. Some of them are Malays, Chinese, Indians and indigenous Bumpitura groups. Malays are 51% of the population, Chinese are 22%, Indians are 6.7% and the Indigenous Bumipitura groups populate 11.8%. The remaining percentage is for other groups which account for 0.7% and non-citizens account for 8.2% of Malaysia per the article Ethnic Groups of Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysia is a highly rich society in the context of multi culture and contains diverse religion, food, culture, beliefs and customs.
The Malay population is the largest ethnic group in the country. …show more content…
It was against the Hindu custom for a Brahmin (intellectual) to accept food or drink from a Shudra (servant) for the fear of being “polluted”. Pseudo-science also developed in Malaysia that states that Malays are lazy, uneducated and deficient in business judgment which is why they need support from the prominent Indians and Chinese (Dixon). Because of this belief Malays live in poverty. Even though they are the majority in the country, they are the ones in poverty because of that myth. In conclusion, the lives of people in India in the lower castes and Malays in Malaysia have been dramatically influenced by myths like …show more content…
For a long time, the NEP has given special treatment to Malays like preferential access to jobs, housing, civil service jobs and loans (Brant). Ever since 1971, Malaysia has been trying to improve the wellbeing of ethnic Malays which included shares in education, employment and title (Klitgaard, 1). This shows how the Malayan community has put in a lot of effort to put an end to inequality based on ethnicity.
According to the article Chinese in Malaysia, The New Economic Policy (NEP) gave advantages to the ethnic-Malays in support of Malay political, military and economic dominance. Although, it was a disadvantage to the aboriginals and Indian ethnic groups in Malaysia. Even though the NEP is making strives to make Malays’ lives better, it would create another inequality if the Malays get all the advantages. The NEP should try to create equality throughout the country if they want to avoid having another problem. They should be working towards making all the opportunities equal for all ethnic