Private Sector Participation in Affirmative Action in Malaysia: - Asian ...

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Chinese share ownership, the Malay ownership expanded at a much faster rate during 1970-1985 (Jesudason, 1991). Of course, it was another thing that a greater portion of this increase in the Malay share of corporate wealth was due to acquisitions made by state-led banks, trust agencies, and public enterprises than private sector restructuring. In terms of employment restructuring, the figures more or less come closer to the NEP targets. By 1990, the share of the Malays taking up agricultural jobs plummeted from 66.2 per cent to 19 per cent, while newly hired Malays in the secondary and tertiary sectors grew from a low 12.1 per cent to 30.5 per cent and 21.7 per cent to 40.5 per cent, respectively. These figures are a proof that employment restructuring policy was largely successful in moving Bumiputeras from the traditional agriculture sector to the more modern sectors (Onozawa, 1991). The Malays made rapid inroad into commercial and manufacturing sector largely because of the NEP led affirmative action. For instance, between 1980-90, 340,000 out of 5,35,000 manufacturing generated jobs (64 per cent) were occupied by the Malay labour force. Therefore, because of NEP employment restructuring requirements, the entire employment structure in manufacturing changed in just two decades. Besides, the Bumiputera proportion of the eight prized professions rose from 4.9 per cent in 1970 to 29.0 per cent in 1990 and 33.1 per cent in 1995 to 38.8 per cent in 2005 (Government Malaysia, 1976, 2005). In terms of combined public and private sector employment in professional services such as accounting, architecture, dental, engineering, law, and so on, between 1990 and 1999, the ethnic percentage changed from 20.7% to 28.9% for Malays, from 59.3% to 53.9% for the Chinese, and from 17.5% to 15.5% for Indians (EPU, 2001). However, there are still many black spots in terms of Bumiputera’s ascendancy in the professional occupations. For instance, despite all efforts and concessions, the Bumiputeras were significantly underrepresented (less than 45 per cent) only at the “administrative and managerial’ levels (at 37.0 per cent) and sales related occupations (at and pro-Bumiputera groups. 24
37.3 per cent). It should be noted the NEP employment restructuring succeeded in increasing the Malay workforce in relatively low wage job categories such as production, services and clerical personnel. They are yet to massively walk into medium and high income white collar jobs (professional, technical, administrative and managerial occupations as well as high income clerical and sales jobs). Both in administrative and managerial jobs, the Chinese still accounted for 58.7 per cent compared to 33.3 per cent for the Bumiputeras in the 1990. In the sales, the corresponding shares came to 56.5 per cent and 36.0 per cent respectively. The same story is repeated in professional and technical jobs. The Malay shares ranged between 20 and 30 per cent among accountants, physicians and lawyers (Ozowana, 1991). Nevertheless, this is significant achievement compare to their situation immediately after the independence which has brought in a growing Malay middle class which was non-existent in the pre-NEP era. Table 2. Registered professionals by ethnicity (Percentage of total) Year Bumiputera Chinese Indian Other Total 1970 4.9 61.0 23.3 10.8 100.0 1985 22.2 61.2 13.9 2.7 100.0 1999 28.9 53.9 15.5 1.7 100.0 2005 38.8 48.7 10.6 1.9 100.0 Source: 8 th & 9 th Malaysia Plan. Table-3, Nine major professional occupations Occupational Categories 1990 2000 2005 Bumi Chinese Indians Bumi Chinese Indians Bumi Chinese Indians Professional & technical 10.0% 7.8% 7.9% 19.7% 18.2% 18.6% 20.7% 18.5% 20.1% Mminus teachers and nurses 5.7% 5.3% 5.4% 14.9% 15.7% 15.9% 15.8% 15.9% 17.2% Teachers and nurses 4.3% 2.5% 2.5% 4.8% 2.5% 2.7% 4.9% 2.6% 2.9% Administrative & 1.3% 4.7% 1.1% 4.8% 12.7% 5.4% 5.4% 14.0% 6.3% 25
Page 1 and 2: Private Sector Participation in Aff
Page 3 and 4: While a great majority of the gover
Page 5 and 6: ‘plural’ 2 Malaysia as it looks
Page 7 and 8: pronounced when Federation of Malay
Page 9 and 10: Fact was since Chinese contractors
Page 11 and 12: ace and restructuring of Malaysian
Page 13 and 14: government set up numerous state en
Page 15 and 16: same criteria was used in granting
Page 17 and 18: Bumiputeras? How did they participa
Page 19 and 20: up diverse and widespread cross-hol
Page 21 and 22: Malays, it never saw them as a dire
Page 23: employment. Many others among them
Page 27 and 28: period is disappearing (Samad 2003)
Page 29 and 30: ecome a ritual of filling up positi
Page 31 and 32: References Chandra, Muzzafar. 1986.

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