During its short rule, NOC also formulated the blueprint of a strategy
to raise the economic position of Malays and other Bumiputeras through
‘affirmative action’ programs designed to promote their participation in
the modern and advance sectors of the economy. It was based on the
argument that the violence of May 13 was the result of relative depravation
of Malays in comparison to non-Malays, and that to avoid further
ethnic violence, economic disparities based on ethnicity had to be
addressed with radical policies. A more detailed version of the blueprint
was incorporated into the Second Malaysia Plan and came to be known
as the New Economic Policy (NEP).