Malaysian New Economic Policy - NEP Launch

NEP Launch

In the wake of the riots, the government declared a state of national emergency, and Parliament was suspended. The government formed a National Operations Council (NOC), led by Tun Abdul Razak. The implementation of the NEP was one of the NOC's first decisions, and the plan had the stated goal of "eventually eradicat poverty...irrespective of race" through a rapidly expanding economy, which would reduce the non-Malay share of the economy in relative terms, while increasing it in absolute terms. The net "losses" of the non-Malays would go to the Malays, who held just 1.5% of the economy at the time of the 13 May riots. In 1971, Parliament reconvened, and Tun Abdul Razak officially became Prime Minister. That same year, Tun Razak also announced the NEP, as well as some controversial amendments to the Sedition Act that prohibited discussion of repealing certain articles of the Constitution, including Article 153, even in the Houses of Parliament. The amendments passed, and remain in effect as of 2006. It should be noted that Malay supremacy and affirmative action are two different concepts, affirmative is time-bound.