The Boundaries of Law: A Socio-Legal Perspective of Malaysia's National Economic Policy
Global Jurist Advances, Vol 8, pp 1-30, 2008
32 Pages Posted: 5 Sep 2009 Last revised: 12 Nov 2018
Date Written: September 3, 2009
Abstract
Malaysia’s National Economic Policy was formulated with two objectives: to eradicate poverty and restructure society. In this article we trace the origins of the policy and review it from a legal perspective. We found that although the policy is not law in the sense used by traditional model jurisprudence, it has nevertheless been adhered to. We argue that this adherence was not because of any moral obligation to comply or that it reflected popular consciousness, but because of the prevailing political and institutional structures which allows the state to impose non-legal sanctions. Thus, although not law, the policy carries with it the state’s coercive powers to induce compliance.
Keywords: National economic policy, NEP, Malaysia
JEL Classification: P00, P16, K00, K10, K20, K30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
