Counter-Hegemonic Discourse on Islam in Malaysia: A Case Study of Malaysiakini's Coverage Regarding the Issue of Halal Certification by Jakim
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7187/GJAT122020-3Keywords:
Islam, Hegemony, Ideology, Counter-Hegemony, Media and religionAbstract
News reports on Islam have gained more attention in recent times because they are often associated with conflicts, which have led to a negative public perception of the religion. In the context of Malaysia, Islam is often associated with conflicts arising from political factors or actions taken by religious authorities against any organisation or individual that provokes public discussion. Islam is also said to have been used as a hegemonic tool by the government to maintain the existing status quo and control public perception. However, the discourse on issues involving Islam has also become more open after the emergence of digital news portals that enable hegemonic counter arguments to be discussed widely among members in the mentioned medium. This study focuses on the discourse by a digital news portal, Malaysiakini, involving the application of halal certificate by Aunty Anne's, which was rejected by Jakim. Using the critical discourse analysis and approaches introduced by van Dijk (2006), the findings showed that Malaysiakini has provided fair and equitable coverage of the case study, which is thoroughly discussed in this article. Nonetheless, Malaysiakini equally appears to be bold in criticising and questioning the actions taken by Jakim and links it with Islamisation in Malaysia.
References
Ahmad Fauzi, A.H. (2018). Islamisme dan Bahananya: Cabaran Besar Politik Malaysia Abad ke-21. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Aini Maznina A., M, & Nerawi, S. (2015). Framing Islam-related issues during GE13: An analysis of Malaysian mainstream newspapers, Intellectual Discourse, 23 (1), 29- 52.
Anne, M. (2016, October 18th). Jakim Wants Auntie Anne's 'Dog' Changed to 'Sausage', Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com
Athirah, H.Z. (2016, April 20th). Orang Melayu Perlu Boikot Malaysiakini, http://www.ismaweb.net/2016/10/orang-melayu-perlu-boikot-malaysiakini
Avila, G. (2016). American Islamic Scholar Blasts Jakim as 'Ignorant' For Refusing Halal Status for Auntie Anne's 'Pretzel Dogs', New Straits Times, https://www.nst.com.my/
Exec: Auntie Anne's Halal Application Rejected Over 'Pretzel Dog' (2016, October, 17th). Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
Guan, Y.S. (2005). Managing Sensitivities: Religious Pluralism, Civil Society and Inter-Faith Relations in Malaysia, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, Volume 94, Issue 382, 629-640.
Holst, F. (2011). Cyberspace - A Better Place? Ethnicization in Malaysia's Online Media, Journal für Entwicklungspolitik, 27(4). 92-113.
Hot Dog Hullabaloo Getting to the Meat of Halal Certification (2016, October 21st). Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
Islam Under Attack? Stop Adding Oil to Muslim Rage, Zaid Tells Leaders (2016, July 12th). The Malay Mail, https://www.malaymail.com/
Juliana, A. W. & Mahyuddin, A. (2009). Filem Box Office dan Ideologi: Satu Kajian Terhadap Filem-Filem Terpilih di Malaysia, Wacana Seni, Vol.8, 43-68.
Malaysiakini and Malaysian Insider Are Evoking Islamophobia (2016, November 19th). Malaysia Today.
https://www.malaysia-today.net/
Mohd Azhar, A.H, Rosman, M.Y., Muhammed, F.O. & Mohd, K.B., (2013), Perspektif Orang Cina Terhadap Agama Islam di Malaysia: Satu Tinjauan Awal, Jurnal Teknologi (Social Sciences), 60, 11-19.
Mohd Faizal, K. (2016). Objective Reporting or Mouthpiece for the Opposition Groups? A Study of Malaysiakini Coverage of the 2013 Malaysian General Election. Jurnal Komunikasi, Volume 32 (1), 1-19.
Mohd Nizam, S., Siti Aishah, C., A., & Suhaila, A. (2013). Malaysian News Report on Muslim Converts' Issues: A Study on Malaysiakini, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 3 (13), 219-230.
Neo, J. L. C. (2006). Malay Nationalism, Islamic Supremacy and the Constitutional Bargain in the Multi-Ethnic Composition of Malaysia. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 13 (1): 95-118.
Noor Sulastry, Y.A. & Nor Azila, M.A. (2013). Transisi Kontra Hegemoni Dalam Budaya Politik Melayu di Malaysia. Jurnal Antarabangsa Dunia Melayu, 6 (1), 120-137.
Osman, S. (2013, August 2nd). Issues of Religion and Race a Challenge for Malaysia. The Jakarta Post, https://www.thejakartapost.com/
Pui, Y.C. (2014). Grassroots Democratic Movements Dependency on New Media in Contemporary Malaysia: Prospects & Limitation, in Alan Chong & Faizal Yahya, State, Society and Information Technology in Asia: Alterity Between Online & Offline Politics London: Routledge.
Ramakrishnan, P. (2016, October 22nd). Malaysia, the Land of Absurdity. Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
Rashaad Ali (2016, April 19th). Minorities' Push Against the State's Race Policies and Politics: The Threat to UMNO Posed by Malaysia's Rising Islamophobia. TodayOnline, https://www.todayonline.com/
Rehan, A.J.A. (2016, October 24th). Jakim and Dietary Laws. Malaysiakini. https://www. malaysiakini.com/
Shojaei, A., Youssefi, K., & Hosseini, H. S. (2013). A CDA Approach to the Biased Interpre-tation and Representation Ideologically Conflicting Ideas in Western Printed Media. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(4), 858-868.
Stephen, N. (2016, October 20th). Khairy, Do You Want to Know Why Islamophobia Happens? Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
Thayaparan, S. (2016, December 30th). My Pick for Top News Story and Newsmaker of the Year, Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
van Dijk, T. (2006). Ideology and Discourse Analysis. Journal of Political Ideologies, 11(2), 115-140.
Wan Norshira, W., M., G., (2019). Islam as The State Ideology: Exploring from Gramsci's Notion of Power, Culture and Ideology. Jurnal Komunikasi, Vol 35 (1), 338-352.
Wang, L.K (2015), Komunikasi dan Budaya: Penyelidikan Komunikasi dan Teori Kritikal in Azman Azwan Azmawati, Mahyuddin Ahmad, Mustafa Kamal Anuar, Wang Lay Kim. Antologi Esei Komunikasi: Teori, Isu dan Amalan (3-18). Pulau Pinang: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Yang, L. F., & Md Sidin, A.I., (2012). Framing Interethnic Conflict in Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage on the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). International Journal of Communication, 6, 166–189.
Yang, L.F. & Leong. W.K. (2017). Framing the Cow-Head Protest: A Comparative Analysis of The Star and Malaysiakini, SEARCH: The Journal of the South East Asia Research Centre for Communications and Humanities, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 71-96.
Yang, L.F. & Md. Sidin, A.I., (2011). Framing Religious Disputes: A Comparative Analysis of the Lina Joy Controversy Reported by Malaysian Newspapers, SEARCH: The Journal of the South
East Asia Research Centre for Communications and Humanities, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp 21-37.
Yang, L.F. & Md. Sidin, A.I., (2015). Gatekeeping in the Coverage of Interethnic Conflicts: An Analysis of Mainstream and Alternative Newspapers in Malaysia, SEARCH: The Journal of the South East Asia Research Centre for Communications and Humanities. Vol. 7 No. 1, pp 23-51.
Zaharom Nain and Wang, L.K. (2004). "Ownership, Control and the Malaysian Media", in Thomas P. N. & Z. Nain, ed., Who Owns the Media: Global Trends and Local Resistances (pp. 249-267). Penang, Malaysia: Southbound Sdn. Bhd.
Zaki, S. (2010, Febuary 25th). Islamisasi dan dasar penerapan nilai-nilai Islam. The Centre for Policy Initiatives.
http://www.cpiasia.net/v3/index.php/230-Columnistsza kisamsudin/1869-islamisasi-dan-dasar-penerapan-nilai-nilai-islam-
Zikri, K. (2016a, November 2nd). Jamil Khir: No Halal Cert Doesn't Mean Food is Haram, But... Malaysiakini,
Zikri, K. (2016b, October 20th). No Ban, Minister Puts a Muzzle on Hot Dog Furore. Malaysiakini, https://www.malaysiakini.com/
GJAT provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
