Engaging divided society in the nation-building process : the case of government communication in Malaysia
16 Jul 2020-
TL;DR: Thematic analysis on all eleven national action plan (NAP) documents known as Malaysia Plan (1965-2016) was conducted to enable the pattern of similarities and differences in nation-building and government communication strategies to be identified over time as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: This thesis explores how government engages with a divided society in the context of nation-building. The widely used yet loosely understood concept of ‘engagement’ in the context of government communication is the focus of this thesis. By using Malaysia as the case study, this research investigates how citizens are communicatively constructed in the context of Malaysia’s post-independence nation-building process. This study is significant because research on citizen engagement in Malaysia’s nation-building is limited and studies focusing on the concept of engagement in deeply divided societies are also scarce.Thematic analysis on all eleven national action plan (NAP) documents known as Malaysia Plan (1965-2016) was conducted to enable the pattern of similarities and differences in nation-building and government communication strategies to be identified over time. Semi-structured elite interviews with the elite actors in Malaysia’s federal government were conducted to understand the government’s articulation and operationalisation of engagement in the context of nation-building process.The key findings from the NAPs reveal that the nation-building in Malaysia takes in a form of national identity project. Adopting an elite instrumentalist approach, national unity becomes the focal communicative strategy in the construction of the national identity. The elite interviews on the other hand demonstrate that government actors tend to describe engagement using the notion of dialogic communication. While acknowledging the advancement in communication technologies, government actors emphasise that the face-to-face engagement initiatives with the citizens are of central importance in the nation-building process.This thesis contributes to the studies of government strategic communication in the context of a deeply divided society that has been characterised as "plural society" that is in a state of “stable tension” (Shamsul, 2009). It helps to develop a richer understanding and knowledge of Malaysia’s nation-building process and approach as a modern postcolonial nation.
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01 Jun 2015
TL;DR: This article explored the contested nature of the nation-building process in post-Soviet Kazakhstan through examining cinematic works and identified four discursive strands within recent postSoviet Kazakh cinema pertaining to nationhood and national identity (ethno-centric, civic, religious and socio-economic).
Abstract: Nation-building is a process which is often contested, not just among different ethnicities within a nation-state, but also among the titular ethnic majority This article explores the contested nature of the nation-building process in post-Soviet Kazakhstan through examining cinematic works Utilizing a post-modern perspective which views nations and national identity as invented, imagined and ambivalent it identifies four discursive strands within recent post-Soviet Kazakh cinema pertaining to nationhood and national identity (ethno-centric, civic, religious and socio-economic) Rather than viewing government-sponsored efforts of identity formation in cinema as a top-down process in which the regime transmits its version of nationhood and identity, the discursive strands revealed in this article illustrate there are varying understandings of what constitutes the nation and national identity in Kazakh cinematic works Furthermore, the strand which focuses on the socio-economic tensions of modern nation-b
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss on the principles of Asian values, propagated by Malaysia fourth prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Islam Hadhari by the fifth prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and 1Malaysia by the current prime minister Najib Razak.
Abstract: This paper discusses on the principles of Asian values, propagated by Malaysia fourth prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, Islam Hadhari by the fifth prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and 1Malaysia by the current prime minister Najib Razak. This paper gives a special attention to Abdullah and Islam Hadhari because it links the Mahathir’s period to current Najib’s leadership. The intension of this paper is to prove that actually these concepts are similar in theory and practice in stressing more on Islam and neo-feudalistic Malay agenda. In fact, Islam Hadhari is ironically a concept created by Mahathir himself to counter the idea of Islamic State from the Islamic party, PAS. Therefore, even after resigning from government, Mahathir’s agenda of Asian values is still being practiced. Najib Razak, current Prime Minister, on the other hand intended to promote quality leadership performance for the public and unity among the multiracial Malaysia. Although there are differences in term of the arguments for each of the idea, it is clear that these ideas or philosophies attempt to protect the real agenda of those three leaders which were to protect the political culture of neo-feudalism and ensure the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and Barisan Nasional (BN) will stay in power. This paper shows the debates between scholars in explaining the ideas and philosophies behind those three concepts in Malaysia’s realpolitik.
28 citations
27 Apr 2018
26 citations
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus heavily on the patterns of actions that reflect how development communication has evolved over the last half century and trace seven threads that have contributed to that fabric we call development communication.
Abstract: In this Chapter we concentrate heavily on the patterns of actions that reflect how development communication has evolved over the last half century. As we explore communication in the real life context of agricultural, health and community development we skirt the many excellent discussions by theorists and academicians who present a more abstract picture of this evolution (see for example, the works of various scholars in Casmir, 1991). We will trace seven threads that have contributed to that fabric we call “development communication.”
26 citations