Exploring the Construction of ‘National Unity’ in Malaysia: Framing Analysis of Texts and Audiences

Abstract

This paper examines the construction of ‘national unity’ within the culturally diverse society of Malaysia. It does so through a framing analysis of 102 recent Malaysian government advertisements. Audience responses, based on a series of focus group interviews, were also analysed. Although the power of visual advertisements comes from its capacity to blend fact and emotion, to engage audiences, and to add the narrative complexity of ethnicities, this paper also discovers a struggle over the meaning when the frames become contested. The findings suggest that multiple, often conflicting frames are involved in making sense of ‘national unity’ for different stakeholders, yet contested narratives of nationhood and ethnic identity is a central theme of the analysis. This paper contributes to a critical understanding of ‘national unity’ beyond culture, images and identity of multi-ethnic groups from two different narratives: the government through which discourse is constructed and the presence discourse of ethnicity.