Malaysia and the Rohingya: Media, Migration, and Politics

Abstract

A framing analysis of Malaysian newspaper, The Star was conducted to identify narrative themes used to frame a period of escalating violence in Myanmar (2012 through 2016) that prompted the Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Our analysis found that the newspaper represented refugees as violent, criminal and illegal outsiders, while the host nation and its officials were cast as benevolent actors offering humanitarian aid. Rohingya people’s arrival in Malaysia was framed as a source of external and internal political debates about migration and the challenges that arise due to refugees’ mobility, porous borders, and human trafficking.

Keywords:

• Frames
• Malaysia
• media narratives
• migration
• newspaper
• politics
• refugees
• Rohingya