馬來西亞是一個多族群的國家，主要包含馬來人、華人、印度人等三大族群。馬來西亞在憲法明白規定馬來人以及沙巴和砂勞越原住民享有特殊地位，讓他們在聯邦公部門、獎學金、教育、訓練、設備、營業或貿易許可證或證照等都有優先權與保障配額。有人稱此種偏好特殊族群的政策為種族主義的歧視，也有人認為是為了扶助弱勢族群的平權行動。本文透過歷史社會學的觀點，探究馬來西亞族群政策的歷史背景、政策施行，以及相關後續發展等。本文認為，馬來西亞的族群政策在政策目標上確實具有平權行動的精神，但是在政策實踐上卻難以避免讓非受惠族群有備受歧視的感覺。這是一個族群民主國家的困境，也是當代馬來西亞在進行國族打造時的難題。

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with three major ethnic groups, including Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Malaysia has a constitutional arrangement that Malays and natives of any of the states of Sabah and Sarawak enjoy a special position, safeguarding their priority and reservation of quotas in the public service, scholarships, education, training, facilities, and any permit or license for the operation of any trade or business, etc. Some people say that this preference for specific ethnic groups is racist discrimination, while some believe that it is to support the affirmative action of the disadvantaged. Through the perspective of historical sociology, this article explores the historical background, policy implementation, and related follow-up development of Malaysian ethnic policy. This paper argues that Malaysia's ethnic policy does have the spirit of affirmative action on policy objectives, but it is difficult to avoid the perception of non-recipient groups being discriminated against in policy practice. This is the dilemma of an ethnic democracy as well as a predicament for contemporary Malaysia in nation building.