Unilateral Conversion Controversy in Malaysia: A Study on News Coverage by the Star Newspaper

Abstract

In recent years, Malaysia has been embroiled with religious conflicts that cause fractions among its citizens. Most of the conflicts involved Islam which is generally known as the official religion of the country. Overall, a total of 60% that represents majority of the Malaysian populations are Malay Muslims, while the remaining consists of other ethnics which include Chinese, Indians, and the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. In regard to this matter, the minorities tend to have the thoughts that they are marginalized by the government policies imposed on them. Mass media especially the newspapers have been regarded as a powerful tool in disseminating information to the population. Apart from that, it is also known to have a strong influence on the mind of individuals in regard to its reporting on a particular issue. However, it should be understood that they can either help to maintain good relations or cause more harm among the citizens. Hence, it is deemed very important to study the news that has been reported by the media to the populace, especially in the Malaysian context that is widely known to consist of multi ethnics and religions. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to study how a controversial issue was reported by The Star, an English mainstream newspaper in Malaysia in regard to the conversion of M. Indira Ghandi’s three children to Islam. Finally, it is worth to note that The Star is owned by a political party linked to the previous regime, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) which has been targeting the middle-class citizens as their audiences.