Labour Discrimination in Malaysia: Passage Out of the Gridlock?

Abstract

Labour discrimination poses complex, prickly and necessary questions for Malaysia. With widespread discontent over graduate unemployment and limited job opportunities, it looks set to be a campaign issue in the country's 14th General Elections, due by mid-2018 but expected earlier.1 Allegations of racial discrimination recur in popular discourses, fuelled by assertions that racial identity excludes some from getting interviewed, hired, or promoted. The rhetoric polarizes. Opposing sides stake out unyielding positions, select evidence that reinforces preconceived notions and assert one group as the victim and the other as the culprit. Commonly, Malays decry discrimination in the private sector, while non-Malays retort by claiming discrimination in the public sector. Both positions have their merits and biases, but talk past each other and perpetuate a stalemate.