Author: Terenze Gomez. The chapter focuses on two key but related issues. First, it provides a brief theoretical discussion on the evolution of business partnerships. Second, through an analytical tracing of the historical evolution of interethnic business relations in Malaysia, it offers some insights about the evolving nature of these inter-ethnic business ties, brought about through the implementation of NEP and NDP, in enterprise development, the newlyemerged middle class, and ‘generational change’ in Malaysia. The main arguments can be briefly summarized as the following. First, although partnerships are common during business start-ups, they are not sustainable in the long run. In view of this, the Malaysian government’s policy of encouraging inter-ethnic business ties through business partnerships is not a proper mechanism to promote national unity. Second, changes in the nature of business relationships indicate that identity transformations have occurred in Malaysia with the rise of the middle class and as new generations of Malaysians emerge.