Power and Voices of Authority in the Media Narrative of Malaysian Natives: Combining Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis Approaches

Abstract

Orang Asli is a group of indigenous people who live according to a set of lifestyle and belief system and speak the native language. Previous studies have found that the Orang Asli are mostly depicted in the news media as backwards and dependent on others (Marlina Jamal & Shakila Abdul Manan, 2016). Such stereotypical depiction is shared with other research undertaken in various countries, particularly those in Canada or Australia. While many of these studies analysed findings from the media and communication or socio-cultural perspectives, the present study examines the representation of Orang Asli in Malaysian news/media by focusing on the use of language, i.e. linguistic viewpoint. The examination undertaken in this study focuses on headlines and lead paragraphs of one of the most influential English language newspapers in Malaysia. This study demonstrates the synergy of two methodological approaches in linguistics namely critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics. Our main findings show how Orang Asli is consistently depicted around stereotypical news narratives such as issues of land rights and other resources. We also found that the voices of Orang Asli leaders are overshadowed by other authorities such as the state government. Thus, this study contributes to shed light on the linguistics resources and language patterns used to portray the Orang Asli in Malaysian newspapers.

Media Sosial dan Wacana penundaan Pemilu 2024 Dalam Perspektif Norman Fairclough

“…Tinjauan teoritis digunakan untuk menganalisis dan mengkaji berbagai konsep, teori, literatur,atau penelitian yang terkait dengan suatu topik tertentu. Dalam penelitian ini, tinjauan teoritis terdiridari tiga penelitian sejenis, yang pertama penelitian yang dilakukan oleh (Ismail et al 2020) dengan judul Power and Voices of Authority in the Media Narrative of Malaysian Natives: Combining Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis Approaches. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa istilah "Orang Asli" secara konsisten digambarkan di sekitar narasi berita stereotip seperti isu hak atas tanah dan sumber daya lainnya.…”

The Orang Asli in Malaysian Media: An Approach from Transitivity Perspective

“…Much of the literature has revolved around the historical background, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and more recently the contemporary issues surrounding the Orang Asli such as social issues concerning their land rights, health, and education. Thus far, studies which have examined the representation of the Orang Asli in the media have revealed that the community does not enjoy a fair and balanced portrayal by the mainstream media and is consistently represented in a stereotypical and demeaning manner [4,16,17,18,19,36,37]. Despite the findings, both journalists and JAKOA themselves have strongly refuted the claim that the Orang Asli are represented in such a manner [36].…”

“…Different methodological approaches have been utilised to examine the representation of the Orang Asli whereby earlier studies opted for a content analysis approach [16, 34(37)] whereas newer studies utilised different discourse analytical approaches [4,17,18,19,32]. [18]'s study was the first study to adopt a CDA approach by using a combination of van Dijk's (1980) Theory of Semantic Macrostructures and van Dijk's (1998) Theory of Ideology in examining the macro and microstructures of the news reports from The Star in deconstructing the ideological representation of the Orang Asli.…”

“…Several existing studies have consistently revealed the discursive practices of the media in constructing the indigenous communities as stereotypical and troublesome [12], primitive [13], emotional and aggressive [14], and paternalistically [15]. Likewise, in the Malaysian context, the Orang Asli as the indigenous peoples of the country have received similar treatment by the local mainstream media which portrays them in a prejudiced and inferior manner [4,16,17,18,19]. Hence, these past literature reveals that the media tends to position and emphasise the negative attributes and qualities of these communities as the significant "Other" or outcasts of society.…”

“…Hence, the present study aims to conduct a comparative study from a CDA approach by comparing how the Orang Asli are represented in both mainstream and alternative media since the existing studies have only focused on examining the mainstream media e.g. [4,16,17,18,19]. Therefore, the objectives of the study are as presented as follows:…”