Editing Economy of Malaysia (section)

===Affirmative action===
{{main|Malaysian New Economic Policy}}
Tun Abdul Razak, who was then Prime Minister, implemented the [[affirmative action]] policy named as [[Malaysian New Economic Policy|New Economic Policy (NEP)]] soon after [[13 May Incident]] in 1969.<ref>{{cite news|title=EPU:New Economic Policy|url=http://www.epu.jpm.my/new%20folder/development%20policies/cont%20key%20policies/NEP.htm|publisher=Economic Planning Unit, Prime Ministers Department Malaysia|access-date=28 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828045029/http://www.epu.jpm.my/new%20folder/development%20policies/cont%20key%20policies/NEP.htm|archive-date=28 August 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Prior to the incident, the poverty rates among [[Ethnic Malays|Malays]] were extremely high (65%) as was discontent between races, particularly towards the Chinese, who controlled 74% of the economy at the time.<ref name="econ stats 1970">{{cite news |title=Jabatan Penerangan Rakyat: Dasar Ekonomy Baru |language=ms |url=http://pmr.penerangan.gov.my/page.cfm?name=DasarEkonomiBaru |publisher=Ministry of Information Malaysia |access-date=28 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623083028/http://pmr.penerangan.gov.my/page.cfm?name=DasarEkonomiBaru |archive-date=23 June 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=The New Economic Policy and Interethnic Relations in Malaysia| url=http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/0/A20E9AD6E5BA919780256B6D0057896B?OpenDocument| publisher=United Nations Research Institute for Social Development| date=1 September 2004| access-date=28 July 2008| author=Jomo K.S.| archive-date=22 October 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081022184208/http://www.unrisd.org/unrisd/website/document.nsf/0/A20E9AD6E5BA919780256B6D0057896B?OpenDocument| url-status=dead}}</ref> Through NEP, the [[Bumiputera (Malaysia)|Bumiputeras]] majority were given priority and special privileges in housing developments, scholarship admission and also for ownership of publicly listed companies.

The NEP was created in 1971 with the aim of bringing Malays a 30% share of the economy of Malaysia and eradicating poverty amongst Malays, primarily through encouraging enterprise ownership by Bumiputeras. After 40 years of the program, bumiputra equity ownership rose to 23% worth RM167.7 billion in 2010 against 2.4% in 1970.

The NEP was accused of creating an [[oligarchy]], and creating a 'subsidy mentality'.<ref>{{cite news| author=Thomas Fuller| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/01/05/kuala.2.t.php| title=Criticism of 30-Year-Old Affirmative-Action Policy Grows in Malaysia| date=5 January 2001| access-date=7 March 2008| archive-date=14 March 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314223335/http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/01/05/kuala.2.t.php| url-status=dead}}</ref> Political parties such as [[Parti Keadilan Rakyat]] and [[Democratic Action Party (Malaysia)|Democratic Action Party]] proposed a new policy which will be equal for every Malaysian, regardless of race.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Malaysian Economic Agenda |url=http://www.keadilanrakyat.org/library/documents/mea.pdf |publisher=Parti Keadilan Rakyat |author=Anwar Ibrahim |access-date=28 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908013110/http://www.keadilanrakyat.org/library/documents/mea.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2008 }}</ref> When the Democratic Action Party was elected in the state of [[Penang]] in 2008, it announced that it would do away with the NEP, claiming that it "...&nbsp;breeds [[nepotism]], corruption and systemic inefficiency".<ref>{{cite news| author= Niluksi Koswanage| title= Malaysia opposition takes aim at affirmative action| work= Reuters| url= https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSKLR17040020080311| date= 11 March 2008| access-date= 2 July 2017| archive-date= 18 November 2020| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201118023906/https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSKLR17040020080311| url-status= live}}</ref>

Wolfgang Kasper, a professor of economics at [[University of New South Wales]], and once an adviser to Malaysia's Finance Ministry, criticized the NEP, saying that "NEP handouts (are) making Malays lazy, corrupt & swell-headed. Worst of all, it keeps them poor." He also criticized the Federal Government giving cash-handouts and financial aid instead of providing equal access to education to help the marginalized poor to lift their income status.

On 21 April 2009, the prime minister [[Najib Tun Razak]] announced the liberalization of 27 services sub-sector by abolishing the 30% bumiputera requirement. The move was seen as a government effort to increase investment in the service sector of the economy. According to the premier, many more sectors of the economy would be liberalized.<ref>{{cite news| title=Bumi proviso removed to rope in more investments, says Najib| date=22 April 2009| work=The Star| url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/4/23/nation/3751636&sec=nation| access-date=23 April 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424063929/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2009%2F4%2F23%2Fnation%2F3751636&sec=nation| archive-date=24 April 2009| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 30 June 2009, the prime minister announced further liberation moves including the dismantling of the Bumiputera equity quotas and repealing the guidelines of the Foreign Investment Committee, which was responsible to monitor foreign shareholding in Malaysian companies. However, any Malaysian companies that wished to list in Malaysia would still need to offer 50 percent of public shareholding spread to Bumiputera investors.<ref>{{cite news|title=Foreign ownership in stockbroking firms raised to 70pc |url=http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Frontpage/20090630104237/Article/index_html |work=New Straits Times |date=30 June 2009 |agency=Bernama }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>