 The Federal Government of Malaysia, dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), was concerned that as long as Singapore remained in the Federation, the "bumiputera" policy of affirmative action for Malays and the indigenous population would be undermined and therefore run counter to its agenda of addressing economic disparities between racial groups.One of the major concerns was that the PAP continued to ignore these disparities in their repeated pledges for a "Malaysian Malaysia" – the equal treatment of all races in Malaysia by the government which should serve Malaysian "citizens" without any regard for the economic conditions of any particular "race".Another contributing factor was fear that the economic dominance of Singapore's port would inevitably shift political power away from Kuala Lumpur in time, should Singapore remain in the Federation.