Impact of ethnic-quota system on Chinese and Indian students' higher education experience in Malaysia

Abstract

This study explores the influence and impact of the ethnic-quota system on Chinese and Indian undergraduate students’ higher education experience, with reference to Malay undergraduate students. From its inception as a by-product of the larger and monumental affirmative action policy – the New Economic Policy in 1971 to its abolishment in 2002, the ethnic-quota system acted as a mechanism within the admission process to safeguard the number of Malay students admitted into undergraduate programmes in public universities in Malaysia. However, multiple existing studies have cast doubts over its abolishment, suggesting its continued implementation in some unofficial capacity, which is unclear to the public. In the present context, whilst the ethnic-quota system has undoubtedly benefitted the Malays, the opposite can be said for the Chinese and Indians. Hence, this research aims to address pertinent questions relative to the ethnic-quota system on Chinese and Indian undergraduate students, namely – its impact on the students’ broader university experiences, its impact on students’ interrelation with other students from different ethnic groups, and the role it plays in the current admission process from administrative point-of-views.

In total, 41 participants were interviewed for this study. From this figure, 38 undergraduate students were recruited from three different ethnic groups (15 Chinese, 10 Indian, and 13 Malay), two study programmes (Chemical Engineering and Education), and five universities (two public and three private universities). The remaining three (3) participants were admissions staff recruited from three public universities. This study used two sampling techniques in the participants recruitment process – purposive and snowball sampling. This study was carried out using the qualitative methodological approach. Because the ethnic-quota system was a postcolonial product with colonial ties, postcolonial theory was adopted and integrated into this study as the guiding theoretical framework. Ethics-wise, permission to conduct this study and collect data was obtained from the relevant institutions and individuals, namely the Moray House School of Education and Sports ethics committee, the Malaysian government, selected universities, and individuals/participants. A one-off semi-structured interview method was used to collect the data, and Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) framework was adopted to analyse the experience and perspectives of the participants.

Despite the government’s claim on its abolishment in 2002, the findings based on the data suggested that the ethnic-quota system continues to exist in contemporary Malaysia. The data analysis indicated that this was caused by an overlap of the interplay between the state’s perception of social reality (i.e. authority-defined) and the participants’ notion of social reality (i.e. everyday-defined). As a result, the ethnic-quota system was found to be opaque or lacking in clarity, leading the ethnic-quota system to be likened to having existed in a ‘ghostly’ form. Substantiated with evidence, the ‘ghost’ of the system was also found to have negatively impacted the social development of Malays, and is detrimental to the social integration process between ethnic groups. Finally, the reality manifested from this situation is deemed problematic, where the complete erasure of the ethnic-quota system proves to be highly challenging.

Overall, the outcome of this study underscores the extensive negative impacts of the ethnic-quota system, primarily on the Chinese and Indians. More importantly, it emphasises a need for more research to be undertaken on the implications of the ethnic-quota system on Chinese and Indians, which is currently massively lacking.