C-MAS2012 - Conference on Media and Society Media, Censorship, and Society:

Crossroads between Global and Local Realities,

24-26 September 2012,

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Portrayal of ethnicity in newspapers featuring Sarawak news

Associate Professor Dr Su-Hie Ting

shting@cls.unimas.my

Dr Collin Jerome

jcollin@cls.unimas.my

Centre for Language Studies

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

Social identities and attributes of stereotypical characteristics have been an area of research

in sociopsychology. A social identity pertinent to plural societies is ethnicity as policies, social

networks and other practices often delineate the people along ethnic lines. This study examined

the portrayal of ethnicity in a leading Sarawak English daily newspaper and a leading national

English daily newspaper. News reports and feature articles which make reference to ethnicity in

the headlines and drop dead (second deck) were identified for analysis. Only news articles with

Sarawak as the dateline were selected. A total of 120 articles from January to April 2012 were

analysed using theories of ethnic identity construction. The analysis focussed on discursive

construction of ethnic identities by the newspapers. Results indicate that the identity of ethnic

groups in Sarawak was constructed through race, tribal membership, regional affiliation and

other identity markers. The identity constructions were suggestive of commonly held stereotypes

and, in some cases, these identity markers were selectively used to portray certain ethnic groups

in a bias manner.

Keywords: ethnicity, social identities, newspaper

Introduction

In multiethnic settings, one of the dominant social identities called into play in daily life is ethnic

identity. Policies, social networks and other practices often delineate the people along ethnic

lines. For instance, ethnic identification is required for official documentation such as application

of identity card, passports, university places and jobs. As such, it is not surprising to find many

studies exploring various ramifications of ethnic group membership in the Malaysian context.

Understanding of what constitutes ethnic group membership varies depending on whether an

external or internal criterion is used. It seems that the internal criterion of ethnic group

membership seems to be preferred by researchers in ethnolinguistic identity, defined as

“individuals who perceive themselves to belong to the same ethnic category” (Giles, 1979, p.

253). The social psychological emphasis is that the individual’s perception of social identities

varies depending on which identity is salient for them in a particular interaction. The internal

criteria of ethnic group membership are “the concepts members hold of what constitutes

legitimate membership – their beliefs, expectations and aspirations with respect to their group

membership” whereas the external criteria of ethnic group membership are objective standards

which must be fulfilled for membership such as skin colour, or fluency in the ethnic language

(Giles & Johnson, 1981, pp. 201-202). However, the notion of ethnic group membership is not so

clear-cut when it comes to media portrayal of the identity.

This is mainly because numerous scholars have argued that media often uses ethnic labels or

stereotypes in constructing and portraying ethnic identity. Leo Driedger (2000, p. 98) maintains

that “research has generally focused on the portrayal of ethnicity and minority groups in the

mainstream media (Zolf 1989), especially of stereotypes of ethnic and minority groups, and

biases in media coverage (Fleras 1994)”. Ritva Levo-Henriksson (2007, p. 10) also contents that

“mainstream media has great power when it represents ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples

through ethnic categories filled with stereotypes”. This is especially true in studies of ethnic

minority groups in mainstream American media. Debra Merskin (2011) argues that mainstream

media in the U.S. continues to use ethnic labels and stereotypical images in representing the

identities of African and Asian Americans, Latinos/nas, and Native Americans. African

Americans, for example, continue to be portrayed as “hostile,” “dirty,” “naïve,” “musical,” and

“very religious” while Asian Americans are usually represented as “nerd”, “good at maths”,

“rude” and “selfish” (Merskin, 2011, pp. 97-98, 101).

In a multiethnic setting, the people do not only differ in ethnic backgrounds but also other

aspects of culture which comes with membership in the respective ethnic groups. For example,

ethnic groups tend to be associated with certain languages, religion and cultural practices

although these may constitute stereotypes and there are members of the community who are

different. The Malays are Muslim, by virtue of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia which states

that anyone born into a Malay family takes up Islam as their religion. Even though Islam is the

national religion of Malaysia, religious freedom is guaranteed. The Chinese are mainly Christian,

Buddhist and Taoist. The Sarawak indigenous groups may be Muslim, Christian or practise their

traditional animist religions. Besides religious and linguistic diversity, the ethnic groups are also

inclined to live in certain areas, leading to the association of geographical locations with

ethnicity. The earlier writing on Sarawak people identify Iban as living mainly in the third

division (Sibu, Rejang River Basin) and Bidayuh in the first division (Kuching) so much so that

the Ibans were referred to as Sea Dayak and the Bidayuhs as Land Dayak. The Melanau is also

included in the Dayak grouping, and the word “Dayak” comes from the Melanau word dayeh

which means land (Malaysiakini, 2012).

In the eventuality that media portrayal of ethnic groups is linked to their numerical dominance,

some background on the population is provided here. Based on the 2000 population census in

Malaysia, the Ibans account for 28.87% of the 2.47 million people in Sarawak whereas the

Bidayuh and Melanau make up 8.03% and 4.99% of the Sarawak population respectively

(Department of Statistics Malaysia, Sarawak, 2012). The other indigenous groups in Sarawak

constitute 6.33% of the Sarawak population. The Malay and Chinese population are similar:

22.99% and 23.38% respectively.

Purpose of study

This study examined the portrayal of ethnicity in a leading Sarawak English daily newspaper and

a leading national English daily newspaper. The specific objectives of the study were:

1. To determine the frequency with which ethnic labels appear in headlines and second deck

of newspaper articles for ethnic groups living in Sarawak; and

2. To analyse the connotative meanings of ethnic labels in headlines and second deck of

newspaper articles through surface and deeper level analysis.

Method

Two newspapers were selected for analysis: a leading Sarawak English daily newspaper and a

leading national English daily newspaper which is distributed in Sarawak. News reports and

feature articles which make reference to ethnicity in the headlines and drop dead (second deck)

were identified for analysis. Articles with Sarawak or places in Sarawak as the dateline were

selected but one article on the Iban diaspora in Johor was included as it shows the newspaper

compared the reactions of the Ibans in Johor with those in Sarawak.

The selection criteria for the articles in the newspapers are mention of ethnic groups in Sarawak,

sub-divisions of the ethnic groups (e.g., for the Chinese or Iban), and the term “Sarawakian”

which refers to the people living in Sarawak. If other ethnic markers such as language, religion

and places clearly associated with certain ethnic groups appear in the headline or second deck of

the article, they were also selected for analysis. The second deck refers to the sentence which

sometimes appears underneath the headline. For example, the following referents are used for

languages of the Malays: Bahasa Malaysia, Sarawak Malay, Dialek Melayu Sarawak, Bahasa

Melayu and Bahasa Melayu Sarawak. The places clearly associated with the Bidayuh are Bau

and Singai whereas reference to longhouses (Rumah Assam) and places (Nanga Dap) would

point to the Iban. Also included are articles which mention individuals who clearly represent

certain ethnic groups but not political figures.

The ethnic designation, Orang Ulu, is used to group the Kenyah, Kayan, Klemantan, Kelabit, the

Lun Bawang, Penan and some other smaller tribes living in the interior of Central Borneo (The

Orang Ulu – Sarawak, n.d.). The term was coined in 1969 when the “Orang Ulu National

Association” (OUNA) was formed but OUNA has since been replaced by the Federation of

Orang Ulu Association Malaysia (Forum) (Malaysiakini, 2012). In this study, this categorisation

of Orang Ulu is necessary because some of the headlines mention place names which are shared

several of the Orang Ulu tribes. However, if the indigenous group is mentioned by name such as

“vote Sagan for councillor, Kenyah community told”, then they are not grouped under Orang Ulu

in the frequency table but under “Kenyah”. Only when indirect references are made, then the

headlines are grouped under “Orang Ulu”.

However, the following were excluded: ethnic groups outside Sarawak, and other nationalities

such as Indonesians and Thai also they may be living in Sarawak. Articles which mention

political parties in the headlines or second deck were not selected for analysis although these

political parties are affiliated with certain ethnic groups. For example, SUPP with the Chinese,

PBDS with the Dayaks and PPB with the Malay. Also not selected for analysis were headlines

which use names of politicians (e.g., Speak their language to lead the young, says Johari)

although Johari can be identified as a Malay from the name or is known to be a Malay by the

readers because the focus of the study was on the group identity rather than individuals. The

practice of using names of political figures is more common for the leading national English

daily newspaper but not for the leading Sarawak English daily newspaper.

In the preliminary data analysis, 120 articles from January to April 2012 were analysed: 91 from

the leading Sarawak English daily newspaper and 29 from the leading national English daily

newspaper. During the initial analysis, seven of the articles with religious labels in headlines and

second deck were included but in the subsequent analysis, only two with clear reference to

ethnicity were retained. The other five were excluded from the actual analysis. Therefore, the

database for the analysis was 115 articles: 88 from the leading Sarawak English daily newspaper

and 27 from the leading national English daily newspaper. Of these, most were in the headlines.

In the leading Sarawak English daily newspaper, 82 out of 88 of the labels were in the headlines,

five of the labels were in the second deck and one of the labels was put in both the headlines and

second deck. For the leading national English daily, 22 out of 27 of the labels were in the

headlines and five were in the second deck.

The overall analysis focussed on discursive construction of ethnic identities by the newspaper. It

involved two main stages: (1) determining the frequency with which ethnic labels appear in

headlines and second deck of newspaper articles for ethnic groups living in Sarawak and (2)

analyzing the meanings of these ethnic labels through surface and deeper level analysis. It is

important to note that the ethnic labels are made up of terms, phrases, words and even acronyms

which were used to construct ethnic identities in newspaper discourse. The first stage of the

analysis follows the methods of content analysis which, among others, involve “counting the

frequency with which words, phrases or themes occur in a text” (David & Sutton, 2004, p. 50).

The second stage of the analysis, on the other hand, applies discursive approaches to media texts

which involve an in-depth analysis of how meanings are created within news reports (David &

Sutton 2004). The literal and implied meanings of the headlines and second deck were analysed

based on the words, phrases, terms, and acronyms used, as well as the content of the articles and

the sociocultural background knowledge of the Sarawak setting, For example, the heading of

“Penan can now cross Sg Adang without fear” is interpreted to mean that the inadequacy of

infrastructure and development in the Penan community and “Foreign boyfriends might be drug

traffickers, Bidayuh women warned” is interpreted as Bidayuh women being gullible.

The second-stage analysis was also conducted using theories of ethnic identity construction.

Numerous scholars have argued that ethnic identity is constructed through a wide range of

markers including ethnic language, cultural heritage, and religion. Malay identity in Malaysia,

for instance, is not only constructed through normative markers of Malayness; namely, Islam,

Malay language and culture, but also produced through other markers including “gender,

sexuality, ethnicity, race, class, religion, age and place” (Thompson, 2007, p. 15). The same can

be said of other ethnic groups living in Malaysia whose identities are created through all the

above mentioned markers. It has also been argued that markers of ethnic identity can be

categorized into two main overlapping types: internal and external. Wsevolod Isajiw (1990),

maintains that the internal marker includes psychological aspects (i.e. cognitive, moral, and

affective/carthatic) while the external marker comprises observable, behavioural traits (i.e. ethnic

language, ethnic group participation, ethnic media and traditions) (cited in Huffman, 2008, p.

69).

Ethnic identity in media discourse, as mentioned earlier, continues to be constructed and

represented through ethnic labels or stereotypes. Merskin (2011), contends that the mainstream

American media continues to use ethnic labels and stereotypes in representing the identities of

African and Asian Americans, Latinos/nas, and Native Americans. These ethnic labels and

stereotypes are divided into four broad categories; namely, “the good, the bad, the pure and the

defiled” (Merskin, 2011, p. 101). For example, African Americans are often portrayed in as

“musical” and “very religious” (the good), “criminals” (the bad), “ignorant” and “naïve” (the

pure), and “dirty” (the defiled) in (Merskin, 2011, 97-98). While there are numerous studies on

ethnic portrayal in mainstream Western media, there are few similar studies in Malaysia. The

paper hopes to address this lacuna by examining the use of ethnic labels in local newspapers’

portrayal of ethnicity.

Results and Discussion

1. Frequency of ethnic labels in headlines and second deck of newspaper articles

The analysis of the headlines and second deck of a leading Sarawak English newspaper and a

national English daily showed that the two ethnic groups highlighted were the Chinese and Iban.

Table 1 shows that out of 88 articles in the Sarawak newspaper, 32 articles (or 36.36%) made

references to the Chinese. The percentage is slightly lower for the national newspaper: 38 out of

27 articles (20.69%). Most of the headlines and second deck had the word “Chinese” although a

few made references to the Chinese sub-groups. For example, “Kuching Foochow association to

double membership”, “Fuzhou association gets gifts of WW2 relics”, “Zhou clan association

mulling over giving automatic membership to new-borns” and “Lo clan association able to

recruit new members through activities organized”. These are easily identifiable as referring to

the Chinese community. Some other headlines (e.g. CNY open house) use acronyms that are also

easily identifiable with the Chinese community because CNY is a commonly used acronym for

“Chinese New Year”. The high frequency of reference to the Chinese community could be due to

the time of the year as the articles selected for analysis were from January to April 2012, and the

Chinese New Year fell within that period. The possibility that the reporters might have been

Chinese has not been investigated.

Table 1. Frequency of labels associated with ethnic identity in the two newspapers

Groups Sarawak newspaper National newspaper Total

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage

Chinese 32 36.36 6 20.69 38 33.04

Iban 19 21.59 6 20.69 25 21.74

Bidayuh 6 6.82 8 27.59 14 12.17

Orang Ulu 8 9.09 1 3.45 9 7.83

Sarawakian 6 6.82 3 10.34 9 7.83

Dayak 3 3.41 2 6.90 5 4.35

Bumi 5 5.68 0 0 5 4.35

Melanau 3 3.41 0 0 3 2.61

Penan 3 3.41 0 0 3 2.61

Malay 1 1.14 1 3.45 2 1.74

Kenyah 2 2.28 0 0 2 1.74

Total 88 100.01 27 100.01 115 100.01

*The total does not add up to 100.00% due to rounding off error

The frequency of references to Iban in the headlines and second deck of newspaper articles is the

second highest after the Chinese for the Sarawak newspaper (21.59% of 88 articles) but for the

national newspaper, the frequency is the same as for the Chinese (both 20.69% of 27 articles.)

For the Sarawak newspaper which had 19 headlines and second deck mentioning Iban, 14 used

the word “Iban” (e.g. Iban song competition seeks participants) whereas the other five used place

names, cultural festivals and societal figures easily identifiable with the Iban community for

those familiar with the local setting, as follows:

Ulu Rejang voters confused by tussle for seat

Nanga Dap woman makes ends meet selling vegetables

PM’s promise to Rumah Assam folk fulfilled

hero of Ulu Oya reburied

RM500 awaits Kanowit Kumang Gawai winner

For example, Ulu Rejang (in Kapit Division), Nanga Dap (in Kapit Division), Rumah Assam and

Ulu Oya (in Sibu Division) are associated with the Iban community. The article which follows

talks about the events happening in the Iban community. The association of place names with the

Iban requires implicit knowledge of the local setting and the Iban community. However, it is

understandable if the inferences drawn are contested because there are other ethnic groups living

in these places. Nevertheless, the Iban is the dominant community in the places mentioned,

thereby giving rise to the association of these places with the Iban community. The

categorisation of the headline “RM500 awaits Kanowit Kumang Gawai winner” as referring to

the Iban community is not likely to be contested because “Kumang Gawai” is the beauty contest

of the Iban maidens who dress in the traditional Iban costumes. Admittedly, lately the beauty

contestants may not be all Iban but the event is still strongly associated with the Iban.

An interesting contrast in emphasis is seen for the focus on the Bidayuh in the two newspapers.

Table 1 shows that the national newspaper had “Bidayuh” in the headline and second deck for

eight (or 27.59%) out of 27 articles, more than references to the Chinese and Iban (both six

only). In comparison, the Sarawak newspaper had Bidayuh in only 6 headlines or second deck

(or 6.82% out of 88 articles). By this comparison, the national newspaper gives more space to

news on the Bidayuh than the other two ethnic communities, possibly because of the numerical

dominance of the Bidayuh in the Kuching Division where the Sarawak office of the national

newspaper is based. The word “Bidayuh” appears in all the headlines and second deck, with the

exception of one which is “Catholics in Bau get new church in Singai”, a headline in the

Sarawak newspaper. Bau and Singai are places on the outskirts of Kuching which are strongly

linked to the Bidayuh community. Although the focus in the headline is the Catholic, the

unmistakable meaning of a new church building for the Bidayuh Christian community is evident.

The other news articles were either on political campaign or exhortations for the Bidayuh

community to keep abreast with development and to stay away from bad influences. Examples of

headlines for political news are:

Mawan assures Bidayuhs of fair representation (Sarawak newspaper)

Manyin: maintain the status quo (Headline). Bidayuhs urged to continue giving strong

support to BN candidates in coming polls (Second deck) (National newspaper)

Both William Mawan and Michael Manyin are Bidayuh politicians who are well-known in

Sarawak and the Sarawakians know that they are Bidayuh leaders but in the event that this fact is

not known, the second deck makes mention of “Bidayuhs”. Interestingly, the Bidayuh leaders

feel that it is necessary to exhort the community to keep up with development (e.g., “Bidayuh

youths urged to take up technical and skills training” in the Sarawak newspaper) and to keep

away from bad influences (e.g., “Foreign boyfriends might be drug traffickers, Bidayuh women

warned” in the national newspaper). The national newspaper is more inclined to print news

warning the Bidayuh of vices. Another headline reads as follows: Don’t dwell on complacency,

Bidayuhs told. These headlines portray the Bidayuh in a negative light as it suggests ignorance.

The other Sarawak indigenous groups get less attention in the national newspaper compared to

the Sarawak newspaper. In the Sarawak newspaper, the mention of Sarawak indigenous groups

in the headline or second deck is as follows: 3 for Melanau, 3 for Penan and 2 for Kenyah.

Similar references were not found in the national newspaper, indicating that the coverage of

events pertaining to smaller ethnic groups in Sarawak is limited. The other headlines categorised

as making references to the Orang Ulu group (Kenyah, Kayan, Klemantan, Kelabit, the Lun

Bawang, Penan) mention place names, for example, “Ba Kelalan highland cashing in on

homestay programme” (referring to the Kelabit), “Long Banyok has new headman” (referring to

the Kenyah) and “recognise Long Akah's proper place in history” (referring to the Kenyah).

Most of these were community news showing the prominence of either the place or the

community leaders. “Orang Ulu” has not appeared in any heading or second deck of the two

newspapers examined.

However, other group labels have appeared in the heading or second deck of the news articles

analysed, particularly Sarawakian, Dayak and Bumi. References to Sarawakian are relevant

when the news affect the people of Sarawak as follows:

Home minister asked to detained Sarawakians (Sarawak newspaper)

Swakians intelligent enough to smell lies (Sarawak newspaper)

'Cawat' remarks still hurt Sarawakians (Sarawak newspaper)

What I'm actually trying to say: For us Sarawakians, communication in a common

language is not a problem (national newspaper)

No ocean too wide to cross: And no mountain too high to scale if Sarawakians put their

hearts and souls to the task at hand (national newspaper)

Yong: Sarawakians still have until end of the month to apply for BR1M (national

newspaper)

The Sarawak newspaper mentions “Sarawakian” in the headline but the national newspaper

mentions it in the second deck. The different placement of “Sarawakian” in the two newspapers

suggest that the Sarawak newspaper emphasises the Sarawak identity more than the national

newspaper. Incidentally, the headlines in the Sarawak newspaper projected Sarawakians in a bad

light whereas the national newspaper tried to highlight the positive aspects, but whether this

observation is generalisable remains to be investigated.

As for the headlines which mentions “Dayak”, only one of the five make a clear reference to the

Iban because of the mention of James Masing who is an Iban politician:

increase in Dayak members sign of community confidence in DAP – Chong (Sarawak

newspaper)

Sabah, Sarawak prefer 13th GE after Kaamatan, Gawai (Sarawak newspaper)

Dayak graduates to hold pre-Gawai carnival (Sarawak newspaper)

Dayaks claim difficulty to transfer shotguns to next-of-kin (national newspaper)

… of Dayaks still haunts community, says Masing (national newspaper)

The others could be read as referring to the Iban and Bidayuh collectively as Gawai is a harvest

festival celebrated by the two ethnic groups and political parties such as Parti Bansa Dayak

Sarawak (PBDS) which has been dissolved opens its membership to these two groups.

Another group reference, “Bumi” appeared in five headlines in the Sarawak newspaper but not in

the national newspaper (Table 1). In Malaysia, bumiputera is understood to encompass the

Malay and the indigenous people but the Federal Constitution of Malaysia does not use the term.

Article 152 of the Federal Constitution recognises the special position of the Malay in

affirmative action and Articles 160 and 161 mentions “natives of Sarawak” and “natives of

Sabah” (Legal Research Board, 1997). The term Bumiputera was first used in the Parliament in

1965 and one of the initiatives which followed was the establishment of Majlis Amanah Rakyat

(MARA) to preserve their interests (Tan & Raj, 1984). The five articles with “Bumi” or

“Bumiputera” in the headline does not single out either the Malay or the Sarawak indigenous

groups:

Bumi traders to inculcate necessary qualities for success

trust fund transforming Bumi's economy – Len

Len: promoting Bumiputera trust fund challenging

idea if Bumis control part of agro-based food production

RM100m to develop Bumiputera entrepreneurs

However, the articles refer to government assistance (e.g. trust fund) mainly in business (Bumi

traders, Bumiputera entrepreneurs, Bumis control part of agro-based food production). The use

of the term “Bumiputera” or its abbreviation “Bumi” is intended to highlight the special

privileges given to the group to develop parity with the other groups particularly in their

economic standing. Surprisingly, “Malay” appeared in only two headings out of 115 analysed

(Table 1), a point for further investigation in the study of media portrayal of society.

To sum up, the analysis based on frequency of ethnic labels in the headlines and second deck in

the Sarawak newspaper and national newspaper revealed that the labels hinge onto implicit

knowledge of the characteristics of the groups, which includes not only geographical

associations and cultural events but also personal features, albeit stereotypes. For example,

naivety of the Bidayuh and Sarawakians. If the headlines can be considered as an indication of

emphasis in news reporting, it seems that the national newspaper tends to highlight the Bidayuh

whereas the Sarawak newspaper also highlights the other Sarawak indigenous groups. Based on

the headlines and second deck alone, both newspapers have more news on the Chinese and Iban

and little on the Malay community – with Bumiputera taken as a reference for both Malay and

indigenous peoples.

2. Connotative meanings of ethnic labels in headlines and second deck of newspaper articles

The surface level analysis of the headlines and second deck showed that numerous words,

phrases, terms and acronyms were utilized to construct and represent the identities of ethnic

groups living in Sarawak and beyond (e.g. Johor Iban). The analysis further revealed that these

terms, acronyms, words and phrases made up the ethnic labels which the newspapers used to

portray ethnic groups of Sarawak. For example, the Bidayuh were portrayed as “musical”

through the use of the phrase “anak kampung singer” and “clan members” through the use of the

term “Bisapung Bidayuh.” The Melanau, on the other hand, were are presented as the “preserver

of culture and tradition” through the use of the phrases “Kaul music fest”, “Melanau’s art of

weaving” and “Pesta Kaul Mukah”. The table below shows the prominent distinguishing ethnic

labels for each ethnic group.

Table 2. Prominent distinguishing ethnic labels

Groups Words, phrases, terms, acronyms used

Ethnic labels

Bidayuh

singer, technical and training skills, BN,

fair representation, complacency, one

Bidayuh community, daughters, Bidayuh

women, wake up and compete, Bisapung

Bidayuh, Barisan,

Musical – singer

Complacent – complacency

Lazy – wake up and compete

(Dis)loyal – BN/Barisan

Community-oriented – one

Bidayuh community

Naïve, innocent, easily deceived,

gullible – daughters; Bidayuh

women

Clan members – Bisapung

Bidayuh

(Politically) underrepresented - fair representation

Bumiputra

traders, trust fund, bumis control,

entrepreneurs Traders/entrepreneurs

Chinese

Chinese education, Cap Go Mei, Chinese

culture, Chinese school/s, Chinese tomb

festival, SUPP, Chinese teachers training

Education-oriented– education,

schools, teachers training, debate

Preserver of culture and

college, Chinese assistant registrar,

Chinese debate competition, Chinese

dishes, Chinese community leaders, civil

service, DAP and PKR, pro-Chinese

business, pro-government, Ching Ming,

CNY open house, CNY celebration, CNY

dinner, CNY event, Christmas and CNY,

Fouzhou association, Foochow

association, kung fu, Lo clan association,

Chiang Suan association, Zhou clan

association, Chinese community, Chinese

primary schools, CNY and Chinese

tradition of courtesy and respect,

Mandarin proficient teacher, Chinese

voters…BN, civil service

tradition – CNY, Cap Go Mei

(Dis)loyal – BN, PKR, SUPP

Courteous and respectful

Traders/entrepreneurs

Leaders – community leaders,

assistant registrar

Clan members – Fouzhou,

Foochow, Chiang Suan

Private sector workers or self-

employed – civil service

Dayak

DAP, pre gawai carnival/gawai, shot-

guns (Dis)loyal – DAP

Preserver of culture and

tradition – gawai, shot-guns

Iban

Baram Iban, Iban song contest, Iban song

competition, Iban language, BN/PAS,

Iban recording artistes, Ibans outraged,

insulting Ibans, Iban community chiefs,

Iban musical awards, popular Iban music

award, Johor Iban, kumang gawai, nang

adap woman, rumah assam folk, hero of

ulu oya, ulu rejang voters, Datuk Seri

Edmund Langgu, proud of

culture…derogatory article, eat leeches,

fried ants….derogatory,

heirlooms…antiques, Sarawak Iban

Annual Conference Methodist Church

Musical – song contest, music

award

(Dis)loyal – BN, PAS

Preserver of culture and

tradition – heirlooms…antiques,

gawai

Religious – Iban Methodist

Leaders – community chief

Clan members – Rumah \Assam

Place-oriented – Ulu Rejang, Ulu

Oya, Nang Adap (Kanowit), Johor

Iban

Warrior – hero of Ulu Oya

Malay

Malay language, old coins and bank notes

Preserver of culture – Malay

language

Collector – old coins and bank

notes

Melanau

Kaul music fest, Melanau’s art of

weaving, Pesta Kaul Mukah, Preserver of culture and tradition

– Kaul

Orang Ulu

Ba Kelalan highland/s, Ba Kelalan,

Kenyah community, Kuala Baram, Long

Akah, Long Banyok… headman, Long

Lama, Long Semiang, Telang Usan,

Penan community, Penan…Sungai

Adang, Penans in Long Seridan

Place-oriented – Ba’Kelalan,

Kuala Baram, Long Akah

Clan members – Ba’Kelalan,

Kuala Baram, Long Akah

Community-oriented– Kenyah

community

Leaders – headman

Sarawakian

Unskilled labor, detained Sarawakians,

cawat, BR1M, intelligent..smell lies,

Miss Global International Malaysia,

1S’wakian, common language, no ocean

too wide to cross

Unskilled – Unskilled labor

Criminals – detained Sarawakians

Preserver of culture and

tradition – cawat

Intelligent – intelligent..smell lies

Beautiful – Miss Global

International Malaysia

Poor/Dependent – BR1M

Risk taker – no ocean too wide to

cross

State-oriented people –

1S’wakian

The surface level analysis corroborates Merskin’s (2011) contention that ethnic labels or

stereotypes are often used in mass media to portray identities of ethnic groups. For instance,

while Latinos/nas are represented as “drug dealers” and “gang members” in the U.S. mainstream

media (Merskin, 2011, p. 100), the Orang Ulu, Iban, and Bidayuh were portrayed as “clan

members” while the Chinese and Bumis were represented as “traders/entrepreneurs” in local

newspapers. The surface level analysis also corresponds with Merskin’s (2011) contention that

ethnic labels or stereotypes used in the media can be divided into four main categories; namely,

the good, the bad, the pure, and the defiled. This is especially true when local newspapers used

three categories of ethnic labels to portray the ethnic groups in Sarawak. For example:

The good: Iban – “musical”; Chinese – “courteous”

The bad: Sarawakian – “criminals”; Bidayuh – “disloyal”

The pure: Bidayuh (women) – “naïve”, “innocent”, “easily deceived”

The surface level analysis amplifies Isajiw’s (1990) contention that ethnic identity comprises

internal and external markers (cited in Huffman, 2008, p. 69). Both the Sarawak and national

newspapers used external and internal markers (as evidenced in the ethnic labels) to portray the

ethnic groups of Sarawak:

Internal aspect

o Affective/chathartic: Iban, Bidayuh, Chinese, Orang Ulu – “clan members” who

have a strong sense of belonging and attachment to their respective communities

External aspect

o Ethnic language: Malay as the “preserver of culture” or more specifically Malay

language.

o Participation in ethnic group functions: Melanau as the “preserver of culture” by

participating in the annual Pesta Kaul.

o Ethnic media: Iban as “musical” particularly their continued interests and passions

in Iban songs.

o Ethnic tradition: Chinese as the “preserver of culture” particularly when they

continue to celebrate Chinese New Year, Cap Go Mei and other Chinese festivals.

The surface level analysis further corroborates the theories of ethnic identity construction. Vidhu

Verma (2002, p. 40) contends that “people’s stronger ethnic, religious, and regional affiliations”

continue to have a pervasive influence on notions of identity of ethnic groups in Malaysia. The

same can be said of how religion, culture, and clan membership continue to shape the identity of,

for instance, the Iban. Numerous scholars have argued that ethnic identity is constructed through

a wide range of markers. If “gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, class, religion, age, and place all

intersect at the crossroads of (Malay) identity (construction)” (Thompson, 2007, p. 15), then the

same can be said of identity-formation among ethnic groups in Sarawak . This is especially true

when place, occupation, education, music, in addition to culture, religion, and clan membership

all play important role in the production of, for example, Iban, Chinese, and Bidayuh identity.

The deeper level analysis, however, reveals that not all members of ethnic groups conform to the

ethnic labels used in the headings and second deck of newspaper articles. For example, not all

Ibans are the “preserver of culture and tradition”. An article in the Sarawak newspaper reported

that some Ibans have been selling their heirlooms and antiques to tourists. They fail to preserve

their ethnic possessions for various reasons, possibly their need for cash. The same can be said of

the Chinese. Although “clan members” is the ethnic label used by the newspapers to represent

the Chinese, not all of them construct their identity through clan membership. A closer look at

the heading and second deck, as well as the content of the Sarawak newspaper articles reveals

that clan associations continue to increase membership, possibly because many Chinese (the

younger generation in particular) are not interested in becoming members. Even though

“education-oriented” is another ethnic label used by the newspapers to represent the Chinese, a

closer examination shows that the Chinese direly require government assistance, to the extent

that they have to raise their own funds and resources in order to provide a better education for

their children. To sum up, the deeper level analysis shows that ethnic labels should not be taken

at face value; both ethnic labels and the actual material or lived conditions of ethnic groups in

Sarawak as explained above based are used in the newspapers’ discursive construction and

portrayal of their identities.

Conclusion

The paper examined the portrayal of ethnicity in a leading Sarawak English daily newspaper and

a leading national English daily newspaper. This was carried out through the analysis of news

reports and feature articles that made reference to ethnicity in the headlines and drop dead

(second deck). The analysis revealed that identity of ethnic groups in Sarawak was constructed

and represented by the newspapers through the use of various categories of ethnic labels and

numerous internal and external ethnic markers. The analysis also revealed that the identity

constructions were suggestive of commonly held stereotypes (e.g. Kaul is associated with the

Melanau; Gawai is associated with the Iban and Bidayuh) and, in some cases, these identity

markers are selectively used to portray certain ethnic groups in a bias manner (e.g. the Chinese

are educated-oriented and business-minded; the Iban are very passionate about music).

The paper, however, does not examine why the newspaper writers used certain ethnic labels

(which is evidenced in the use of words, phrases, terms and acronyms) to construct and portray

ethnic groups of Sarawak. An interview with the writers would provide further insights into the

reasons why they used these ethnic labels and the underlying motivations that underpinned it.

The paper also does not address many open and still unanswered questions regarding local media

portrayal of ethnic identity. Such questions can be addressed more comprehensively in future

studies using, for instance, focus group interviews and online surveys. Some of these questions

include: Why do newspapers continue to present ethnic groups of Sarawak through ethnic labels

and stereotypes? What are the underlying motivations and agenda that underpin it? How would

members of ethnic groups respond to the ways in which their identities are portrayed by local

newspapers? How would they respond to the newspaper writers’ use of ethnic labels and

stereotypes in portraying their identities? Do these ethnic labels and stereotypes truly represent

their sense of self and belonging to their ethnic groups? It would be interesting to hear what

members ethnic groups (particularly those of different class, gender and age and in multiple

locations) say about their own notions of identity and ethnic self-identification.

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Bio-data

Dr Su-Hie Ting teaches at the Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. She

graduated from University of Queensland with a Ph.D in Applied Linguistics in 2001. She has

published on language use and attitudes, and academic writing.

Dr Collin Jerome is a lecturer of English language and literature at the Centre for Language

Studies, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He obtained his doctoral degree in English Literature from

the University of Sussex, The United Kingdom. His main research interests include

postcolonial/queer studies, gender and sexuality in pedagogy, literature and media.