'Selling Race and God During GE13: a Discourse- Historical Analysis Of
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‘Selling Race and God during GE13: A Discourse- historical Analysis of Editorials and Columns in Mainstream Malay and English-language newspapers during the 13th General Election in Malaysia’ by Siti Nurnadilla Mohamad Jamil A Doctoral Thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University April 2018 ©Siti Nurnadilla Mohamad Jamil, 2018 Abstract This thesis conducts a critical analysis of editorials and columns in mainstream newspapers during Malaysia’s 13th General Election (GE13) campaign. In a country that practises parliamentary democracy but simultaneously observes a ‘close cooperation’ (Mustafa, 2010, p. 51) between the ruling party and the mainstream press, this study explores the links between the two. The thesis demonstrates the continuing power of the mainstream press in the country. It also explores how a so-called parliamentary democracy can lead to authoritarian rule, as well as the role of the press in this process. Adhering to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) principles, the thesis describes and explains how particular relations of power are enacted, reproduced and legitimized within government-owned media, in this case Malaysia where control is institutionalized. This study specifically focuses on the discursive strategies of legitimation in editorials and columns, and how they present particular narratives or arguments in the interests of the powerful. The thesis offers a greater understanding of the deep ideological structures of mainstream newspapers and, in particular, their construction and (de)legitimisation of the government and opposition during the GE13 campaign. This investigation draws on various methods, from quantitative content analysis to the Discourse-historical Approach (DHA), and insights from a range of disciplines, to examine the discursive features of mainstream newspapers’ discourse during the GE13 campaign. The main contributions of the thesis are on theoretical, methodological and empirical grounds. It contributes to the body of knowledge on political communication research by focusing on the Asian-Malaysian context and moving away from Western-centric models that often overlook the key element of culture. The application of the DHA provides a novel and valuable contribution to the understanding of Malaysian election communication discourse through its interdisciplinary methods and analyses. The empirical investigation provides conclusive evidence that revolves around the issues of the perversion of developmental journalism, race/ethnicity, Islam and its abuses, as well as change and time. This thesis also reviews and reveals the extent to which the press in Malaysia is controlled, dominated and manipulated, thereby challenging those, including the ruling elite, who have claimed that Malaysia is a democratizing nation state. ii For Mus’ab Umayr, my cheeky one year old son. Parenting through a PhD was not easy. It was virtually an insane job to me. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you dearly. iii Acknowledgements The day I’m writing this is the day that I’ve been dreaming of since the first day I started my PhD. I’d always imagined writing the acknowledgements page as being akin to crossing the finishing line, and here I am crossing the line. This PhD journey has been a truly life-changing experience for me for over the four, long- mostly amazing, at times, agonizing- years. This thesis, while written alone was not done in isolation. I am thankful to Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) who funded this research. Thank you also to the Doctoral College Office for providing the studentship which made the completion of this thesis possible. Special thanks go to Dr John E. Richardson, my first supervisor, whose works brought me from Lancaster to Loughborough to be trained as a critical discourse analyst and potentially a doctor. He breathed life into this study. His writings, encouragement, dedication, patient guidance and the illuminating discussions throughout my PhD journey has been the constant source of tremendous energy and inspiration. It was a real privilege and an honour for me to share of his exceptional knowledge but also of his extraordinary human qualities. I thank John for always believing in me and my research. I thank him for reminding me that “work can wait” when he visited me during my confinement after my baby was born. I owe debts far too great for words. I wouldn’t be able to write this page today without Professor Dominic Wring and Dr Michael Skey. They took up the reins after John had to be off-work due to his health during my writing up phase. They have provided a great deal of time and encouragement, as well as intellectual rigour, during a sometimes-painful process of adjustment. I cannot express enough thanks to Dom for his support and intellectual guidance to keeping me on track. For giving me the space and freedom yet is just an email away. And I am very much indebted to Michael for his commitment and insight throughout the process of writing this thesis. Michael is one great mentor. He has challenged my arguments on numerous occasions with his downright difficult questioning. I thank him for his diligence, academic guidance, support and for always being there for me even from the banks of Lake Kariba! I was really in good hands with Dom and Michael, they’re academic rockstars who made this work truly interdisciplinary! iv A big heaping thanks goes to Professor James Stanyer who read and commented Chapter 5 for me. To Khairil Azhar Md Yassin, the Malaysian anthropologist who is also my teacher, for being so kind to read Chapter 3 for me (thank you too for all the fruitful academic (and non-academic) discussions!) To Professor Lorenzo Morris from Howard University (US) whom I met at the 24th World Congress of Political Science (IPSA) in Poland for the interesting discussions about my paper (part of this study), particularly on the idea of ‘race’. Also, to Dr Nora Nasir from International Islamic University Malaysia, IIUM for her constant faith in me and to the late Dr. Selvarajah Tharmalingam who first taught me to question norms in discourse. To all my teachers from UiTM, IIUM to Lancaster University; I can’t name all of you here, but you are never forgotten! I must thank Deirdre Lombard from the Department of Social Sciences as well as Tracy Bergstrom from the Doctoral College Office. To Graduate School for numerous fundings that enabled me to present my work at seven local and international conferences, thank you! I also want to thank Andy Deane from Student Advice for all his kind advices and time listening to me talking about everything! I also want to thank Pilkington Library Team, particularly Chris Walton and Liz Wells who find all the books and journals for me, no matter how far, no matter in what country, they’d find them! Also, to my journalist- friends, Dina Murad from The Star and Hanna Hussein from New Straits Times, thanks for helping me with the archives! I am indebted, too, to my fellow comrades at Brockington, Gennaro (thanks for reading and commenting on my works), Hui Ju, Songul, Sunida, Suria, Lukas and Jade, for going through this journey with me, for surrounding me with support and encouragements throughout. Not to forget my Malaysian society in Loughborough (MML) and my usrah- mates in Sheffield. These people have indeed provided a much-needed form of escape from my studies. My dear old friends in Malaysia, Afiqah Sunif, Atiqah Nori, Siti Syifaa, Fadhlina and Amira Sakinah. They have always given me help and encouragement and they have stayed my friends during this intense process, when I often felt that I was neglecting them. I am grateful for their friendship, and I hope from now on, to participate in their lives as I used to. Also, to Shazna AB, it’s your turn now! Sincere thanks go to my mother, Noraini Salleh who has raised me up by working so hard to give me one of the most powerful tools in the entire universe, i.e. education. She has v met the love of her life during my PhD journey. Thank you, ayah, Tarmidzi Jamaludin, for making mama happy when I am 6528 miles away! I also want to thank my sister, Dr Emilia Habiba, her husband, Syuaib Shahadan and my beautiful and smart niece, Khadijah who live in Ireland, where I always regard as my second home. Thanks to my father, Mohamad Jamil, my parents in law, Roslan Habibullah and Sofiah Khalid, my grandmothers, Fatimah Ahmad and Sarimah Ahmad, my sisters, She, Qis and Neyu, as well as the rest of the family for their continuous and endless support and prayers. And to Kid, Sadiq, Sarah, Baby, Amiratul, Saqinah, Ain, Akmal, Ariff, Afifi, Adli, Anaqi and Abqori, I hope you’d never let your dreams be dreams. To everyone else who’s been there or thereabouts- you know who you are, thank you! Last but not least, I’m still finding it hard to express my gratitude to my husband cum best friend forever, Hariz Azhar, who reminded me there’s more to life than working on my PhD, who kept a sense of humour when I had lost mine; who cooked during the critical time when I was writing up. Whose care, love, encouragement and support have made every effort made in this work gratifying. To my loving husband, Hariz, I am much obliged. And yes, I’m taking over my kitchen back very soon! Loughborough University, United Kingdom 9 April 2018 vi Table of Contents List of tables………………………………………………………………………................... xii List of graphs …………………………………………………………………………………. xiv List of figures …………………………………………………………………………………. xv List of appendices ……………………………………………………………………………... xvi INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………….. 1 • Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….. 1 • The thesis’s focus ……………………………………………………………………… 3 • Research questions …………………………………………………………………….