Affirmative Action in Malaysia: Education and Employment Outcomes since the 1990s

Abstract

An important element of Malaysia's affirmative action regime has been to expand tertiary education access and upper-level occupational opportunities for the Bumiputera beneficiary group. However, the momentum of change has dwindled in recent years; Bumiputera representation in managerial and professional positions remained fairly static across 1995-2005. This paper provides a framework for conceptualising affirmative action and outlines Malaysia's affirmative action programmes in education and employment. It compiles evidence of affirmative action outcomes from official publications and various surveys, and derives new information from census data. Tertiary education quantitatively burgeoned from the 1990s, but the growing importance of educational quality adversely affects Bumiputera graduates, who predominantly enrol in less regarded domestic public institutes. In addition, Bumiputera continue to rely heavily on the public sector for employment in managerial and professional positions. The findings demonstrate a critical need to arrest the quality decline in public education and to judiciously modify affirmative action programmes.     

The Impact of Metagovernance on Local Governance Networks. Lessons from Danish Employment Policy

This article analyses the impact of metagovernance on the functioning of local governance networks. It does so by comparing the functioning of four local governance networks in the field of local employment policy in Denmark. Between 2007 and 2009, two of these networks were linked to jobcentres in which the municipality and a state agency shared responsibility for employment policy, while the other two were linked to jobcentres in which the municipality had full responsibility. We explore two types of metagovernance that the local governance networks were subject to: general, hands-off metagovernance consisting of the assignment of full responsibility to the municipality alone, or of shared responsibility to the municipality and the state jointly; and tailored and fine-tuned metagovernance directed towards only one or a few networks and their corresponding jobcentre(s). Our findings suggest that, as network governance becomes a mature phenomenon, the importance of metagovernance increases, particularly for strategic reasons. More specifically, we find that the functioning of local governance networks is only marginally affected by acts of general, hands-off metagovernance, such as the different organisational set-ups ascribed to the jobcentres. More influential are the hands-on network management tools, such as direct consultancy. Hands-on metagovernance instruments, however, are more costly for the metagovernor. Whichever tool is applied, the local actors' responsiveness to metagovernance is significant for the outcome.     

Where the Low Road and the High Road Meet: Flexible Employment in Global Value Chains

This article examines production organisation and employment patterns in the export-orientated centres of Denizli (Turkey) and Tiruppur (India). It argues that Denizli and Tiruppur's involvement in global value chains has resulted in segmented production patterns and insecure employment arrangements. Larger producers use sub-contractors as a strategy to mediate the instability of international contracts and pass the uncertainty in their global linkages on to smaller firms and their workforces. Such flux, then, has become a regularised feature of manufacturing work within the ranks of sub-contractors. Employers have solidified these production arrangements by recruiting rural and female workers. The article sheds light on the relationship between new production forms and rising employment insecurity.     

精英化的培养理念与蓝领化的市场需求——关于应用技术型本科院校的大学生人才培养的思考

大学生的职业生涯设计和选择是我国各高校和社会极为关注的重要课题,大学生在校学习时,要扎实、刻苦使之成为精英,就业时就能较好地适应市场经济需求,从而担当起社会主义现代化的合格建设者和可靠接班人的重任,特别是应用技术型本科院校的学生如何担当此重任更是值得思考的问题。     

女生就业的比较与分析——法学专业女大学生就业情况的调查

为把握了解当前法学专业女大学生的就业现状,分析女大学生“就业难”的主要原因,研究分析并提出相关对策建议,我们对某高校女大学生就业情况进行问卷调查。调查中我们发现女大学生就业形势的确不容乐观,女生就业面临的最大困难就是性别歧视;政府部门、用人单位与学校应采用积极的改进措施。     

劳动合同制度的政策基础与功能冲突

劳动政策是政府干预劳动关系、协调劳资利益的基本手段。在我国经济体制改革过程中逐渐形成了以建立劳动关系市场化运行机制为目标的劳动政策体系,其宗旨是建立以劳资个体协商为核心的劳动关系运行机制。在此基础上我国逐步确立了以劳动合同制度为核心的劳动法体系,希望将劳动关系的运行风险通过合同机制化解在劳动关系内部,以减轻政府的负担。但是劳动合同制度与我国劳动政策目标之间却存在着功能冲突,使得我国劳动政策的实施缺乏制度保障。     

独立学院学生自我认知与择业就业关系的研究

当前独立学院学生在自我认知方面存在着概念模糊、评价偏高或偏低等问题,这极不利于其顺利择业就业。必须在独立学院学生中加强自我认知教育,构架独立学院学生自我认知与择业就业相嫁接的有效模式,这不仅有助于其心理素质的全面提高,更有利于其个性特征与择业就业目标的理想匹配。     

基于生态位视角的大学生就业问题探析

借鉴生态学中生态位相关理论，可以为大学生就业提供一种有益的建议，即提出大学生就业生态位的概念，从生态位视角分析大学生就业过程中的相互关系，运用生态位重叠与竞争理论可以解释现实中大学生就业过程的相关问题和现象。对于大学生就业生态位分析模型的构建，有助于大学生在就业过程中准确地找到适合自身生存与发展的位置，并且可供高校相关部门为大学生就业提供指导。     

“和谐”与“稳定”之辨——劳动者辞职权制度的反思与重构

《劳动合同法》针对“劳动合同短期化”问题扩大无固定期限劳动合同和经济补偿金的适用范围，以此强化劳动关系的稳定性，但同时却没有对劳动者的辞职权进行合理的限制。这种制度设计没有充分照顾到企业和劳动者的利益平衡，忽视了“和谐”的内涵。为此，应当修正目前劳动者辞职权制度对劳动关系矫枉过正的规定，减弱法律的刚性，实现劳动关系的动态平衡，使“和谐”与“稳定”的价值追求相统一。     

中国妇女在推动先进生产力发展进程中的现实状况

当前,中国妇女在推动经济建设中的作用日益显著,已经成为推动生产力发展的重要力量.但是我们也要清醒地认识到,我国妇女在发展进程中还面临着不少困难和障碍.在这机遇与挑战并存的现实状况中,妇女只有进一步取得解放与发展的主动权,并积极参与到推动生产力发展的进程之中,才能实现自身解放和社会发展.