Policy Ideas - Fifty Years of - The New Economic Policy - Revisiting Its Impact on Social Cohesion,

It is important to place the introduction of the NEP in the context of the developments in the late 1960s, namely the May 13th, 1969 riots and developments in the early 1970s. [...] Specifically, Article 153(1) enjoins the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to “safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this Article.” It is important to note that the term in the Constitution is “Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak,” not “Bumiputera” as is often. [...] 1 Article 153(2) contains the provisions which enjoins the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to “ safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak and to ensure the reservation for Malays and natives of any of the States of Sabah and Sarawak of such proportion as he may deem reasonable of positions in the public service (other than the public service of a Stat. [...] In the then Malaya, the Federation of Malaya Constitution drafted by the Reid Commission for the newly independent Federation of Malaya defined, among others, the state system and its citizenry, with the rights and obligations of each, but there was no mention of the question of the nation and national identity. [...] (2) a Bumiputera-based nation but one with Malay as the defining identity – the view being held by the Malay literary and cultural elite and their supporters; (3) the notion of a nation that is grounded in the subjective imaginings of the people shaped by the understanding and recognition of Malay as the language of Malaysia and the Nusantara region, while respecting and promoting other languages.