Wow, didn't know this. I have a friend from Indonesia, who is of Chinese descent. They were forced to take Indonesian names and ditch their Chinese names.
I don't know the veracity, but according to Wikipedia the British encouraged the system. So while the British may not have directly caused it they let it fester while they controlled Malaysia.
Regardless, when I look up the definition of apartheid it doesn't seem to require the non-natives being the ones to implement it.