Theoretical and historical underpinnings

Concepts, complexities, contentions

This chapter addresses the rationales, objectives and mechanisms of affirmative action and discusses the complex and contentious implications of the policy. I unpack underlying concepts and theories, focusing on the particular forms of disparity and disadvantage that affirmative action aims to redress. Drawing on a broad range of multidisciplinary literature and country studies, and taking into account the circumstances of Malaysia and South Africa, I formulate a definition of affirmative action to guide the analysis: preferential measures to promote the representation of a disadvantaged group in socially esteemed and economically influential positions.

I also discuss the complexities of the specific problems being addressed -under-representation of disadvantaged groups in higher education, high-level occupations, enterprise development and wealth ownership - where entry barriers, discrimination and other systemic factors can perpetuate disparity between groups. The exercise of preferential selection, while inherent to affirmative action, is also contentious. Like any policy involving group preference, the potentialities and pitfalls are both immense, although the vested interests and resistance to reform can be magnified when the preference is based on race and ethnicity, particularly in societies where race and ethnicity arc integral to political mobilization and contestation. This chapter will also discuss the debates and controversies that permeate this policy, stemming from three specific critiques: AA is unwarranted and market processes are adequate; the policy should be structured by need or class instead of race; such interventions undermine merit-based selection and perpetuate dependency.

It is imperative to adhere to the objectives and instruments of AA in our analysis and to situate critiques in proper context. To inform current policies, as this book intends, my research addresses how countries can implement AA in an effective - and transitory - manner, rather than whether countries should have implemented it in the first place. I venture forth a systematic approach to chart pathways out of the current regime of overt racial preferences. This is especially germane in the contexts of Malaysia and South Africa, where AA is constitutionally authorized, institutionally embedded and practically ingrained. Rather than posing counterfactuals of scenarios in the absence of AA, this book focuses on policy practices and outcomes, critically examining the initial objective of increasing representation as well as the ultimate goal of developing capability, competitiveness and self-reliance. Beyond the more quantitative issue of the beneficiary group’s participation in higher education, high-level occupations, enterprise and wealth ownership, various qualitative aspects must also be incorporated, conceptually and empirically, with a view to constructing a framework that addresses how AA can work more systematically and effectively.

Much of the debate surrounds the implications of race-based targeting on class or socio-economic disadvantage and the impacts of preferential selection on merit. The efficacy of AA is augmented with more progressive distribution and more meritocratic selection within the beneficiary group. The greater the extension of benefits to the poor and for inter-generational upward mobility', and to those with greater ability or potential, the greater the likelihood that AA broadly cultivates capability and facilitates rollback of preferential treatment. With particular reference to Malaysia and South Africa, where opposition to AA tends to be framed in terms of need and class, respectively, I provide a framework for conceptualizing the primacy of race-based preferences while incorporating need-, class- and merit-based considerations as means to complement and reinforce the policy. Differences across policy sectors stand out: need-based considerations eminently apply in higher education, and merit-based considerations importantly complement AA in high-level employment and enterprise development. Need can be integrated into AA wealth ownership programmes that target low-income households, but allocation of assets that involve productive output - large or small - must place more emphasis on proven or potential ability.