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DissertationDOI

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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Book
09 Aug 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the ways in which governments are putting citizens first in their policy-making endeavours, and the challenges and demands such an approach will demand, and are they prepared to commit the time and resources to ensure genuine engagement takes place and that citizens interests are considered foremost.
Abstract: This book explores the ways in which governments are putting citizens first in their policy-making endeavours. Making citizens the focus of policy interventions and involving them in the delivery and design is for many governments a normative ideal; it is a worthy objective and sounds easy to achieve. But the reality is that putting citizens at the centre of policy-making is hard and confronting. Are governments really serious in their ambitions to put citizens first? Are they prepared for the challenges and demands such an approach will demand? Are they prepared to commit the time and resources to ensure genuine engagement takes place and that citizens’ interests are considered foremost? And, more importantly, are governments prepared for the trade-offs, risks and loss of control such citizen-centric approaches will inevitably involve? The book is divided into five parts: setting the scene: The evolving landscape for citizen engagement drivers for change: Innovations in citizen-centric governance case studies in land management and Indigenous empowerment case studies in fostering community engagement and connectedness case studies engaging with information technology and new media. While some chapters question how far governments can go in engaging with citizens, many point to successful examples of actual engagement that enhanced policy experiences and improved service delivery. The various authors make clear that citizen engagement is not restricted to the domain of service delivery, but if taken seriously affects the ways governments conduct their activities across all agencies. The implications are enormous, but the benefits to public policy may be enormous too.

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether the One Malaysia is a new concept or just a re-branding of existing concepts and examined the principles of One Malaysia to see the efforts toward nation building.
Abstract: Generally, Malaysia is being described as one of the prime example among those societies that are severely divided along ethnic lines. The country is also among the few pluralistic societies that have achieved some measure of success in managing ethnic conflict and enjoying relative political stability. The complexities of the Malaysian case stem are from the make-up of its ethnic population: Malay (58 percent), Chinese (24 percent), Indians (8 percent), and others (10 percent). Efforts to integrate these diverse groups in the interests of national unity have been, and remain, at the heart of the Malaysian endeavour of nation-building. Her national independence and its Constitution were grounded upon the political bargaining process among ethnic groups which ensued social contract had made them possible. During Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad years, the political sensitivity towards the non-Malays was reduced remarkably. Among the important changes were, liberalization of language, education policies and the most important is the promotion of nation building such as Bangsa Malaysia (united Malaysian nation). When the present Prime Minister, Najib Razak took over the office, he introduced One Malaysia slogan to develop one nation. One Malaysia seeks to improve the relationship of all Malaysians, regardless of racial, religious and cultural background. This paper aims to examine whether the One Malaysia is a new concept or just a re-branding of existing concepts. Therefore, the principles of One Malaysia will be examined to see the efforts toward nation building.

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role of interest groups in the transmission of issues between the public and government policy is explored in this article, where the authors focus on the role of groups in government responsiveness to voters.
Abstract: What is the role of interest groups in the transmission of issues between the public and government policy? While government responsiveness to voters has received widespread scholarly attention, li...

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors define the issues of state failure and state-building, collective identity, elite consensus, and foreign intervention in the development of a country's political system.
Abstract: I. Defining the Issues 1. A Useful Distinction a. State Failure and State-Building b. Nation Failure and Nation-Building c. The Habitus of Obedience to Law 2. Foreign Intervention and the Promotion of Democracy a. The Policy of the United States b. The Policy of the United Nations II. Constitutional Politics 1. Constitutional Nation-Building 2. Collective Identity and Constitutional Identity 3. The Procedural Aspect: Democracy, Elite Consensus, and Foreign Intervention a. The South African Constitution b. The Afghan Constitution c. The Cypriot Constitution 4. The Institutional Aspect: Strong Leadership or Consensual Democracy? III. Conclusion

25 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The year 2009 will be remembered for Malaysia's first political dynasty coming to fruition as mentioned in this paper, where Najib Tun Razak, the son of Abdul Razak who was Malaysia's second Prime Minister, became Malaysia's sixth PM.
Abstract: The year 2009 will be remembered for Malaysia's first political dynasty coming to fruition. Najib Tun Razak, the son of Abdul Razak who was Malaysia's second Prime Minister, became Malaysia's sixth PM. His predecessor paid the price for losing the March 2008 General Elections and was forced to resign. At the start of the year, the People's Pact (PR or Pakatan Rakyat) under Anwar Ibrahim appeared to still have the political momentum generated by the general elections. However, as the year progressed, it was clear that Najib managed to get the upper hand over Anwar and the opposition.

23 citations