Chinese Responses to Malay Hegemony

Owing to their status as an immigrant minority community, the political, social and economic life of Chinese in Peninsular Malaysia (known as Malaya in the period before 1963) has inevitably been shaped by initiatives emanating from the dominant Malay community. According to the latest census figures released in 1995, Chinese form 29.4 % of the population in Peninsular Malaysia compared to 57.4 % for Malays and 9.5 % for Indians [Government of Malaysia, Department of Statistics Malaysia 1995: VoLl, 40J. This paper examines the impact of Malay hegemony, which emerged with independence in 1957, on Chinese political and economic life. The interplay of Malay ascendance and Chinese responses over the last four decades has undergone three distinct phases: (1) 1957-69- Alliance coalition rule; (2) 1970-90 National Front (Barisan Nasional) coalition rule and implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP); (3) 1991-present- implementation of the National Development Policy (NDP). During the first phase, Chinese experienced meaningful political participation and made significant economic gains. The second phase saw concentration of power in the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a concerted implementation of Malay affirmative action policies, and a concomitant marginalization of Chinese political activity. In the current phase, ND