RT Article
T1 Reforms and Media Depictions of the Death Penalty in Malaysia
JF International criminal justice review
VO 34
IS 4
SP 351
OP 369
A1 Singh, Darshan
A2 Griffin, O. Hayden
A2 Webb, Megan
A2 Suresh Narayanan
A2 Leban, Lindsay
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1907407286
AB Malaysia has retained the death penalty for violent crimes and some nonviolent drug offenses. Major news dailies, controlled by political parties in the ruling coalition, have helped justify this stance in the past. This situation changed over 22 months when a new coalition, which campaigned on abolishing capital punishment, took office and sparked renewed public discussion on this issue. Depictions of the death penalty debate were analyzed by conducting a content analysis of two major English-language newspapers, The Star and New Straits Times. Our findings suggest that The Star provided more international coverage and the New Straits Times prioritized domestic coverage. While both outlets provided comprehensive, and sometimes, critical coverage of executions elsewhere, they downplayed the fact that Malaysia engages in the same practice. There was no evidence to indicate that they were pushing an agenda as neither took a formal position on the issue. Content to transmit the differing views on the subject, neither functioned as forums to air nor shaped policy positions. This posture was possibly shaped by preconceived notions of what their readership wants and/or self-censorship—a legacy of past subjugation that will hopefully change when press freedom is perceived as a right, not a privilege.
K1 Drug trafficking
K1 Malaysia
K1 deterrent
K1 Media
K1 Death Penalty
DO 10.1177/10575677231200447