New Media in the Margins : Lived Realities and Experiences From the Malaysian Peripheries

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Acknowledgements 5 Contents 7 List of Contributors 9 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 12 1 Introduction 13 Introduction 13 What This Book Is About 16 Multiple Digital Publics 18 The Chapters 21 References 24 Part I Indigenous Rights and Representation 27 2 Native Customary Rights Land Titles and Thwarting Deforestation: Digital Acts of Resistance Among Sarawak’s Indigenous Peoples 28 Introduction 28 Overview: Politics or Native Land Titles? 29 NCR Land 31 The Legal Dimension 31 The 1958 Land Code 34 The Political Dimension 37 Indigenous Peoples and Digital Activism 38 Indigenous Activism Going Forward 43 References 45 3 Some Orang Asli Still Think Najib Is PM: Representations and Self-Representations of the Orang Asli in the Cameron Highlands By-election 49 Introduction 49 The Orang Asli in Malaysia 51 Media Representation of Indigenous People 53 In Malaysia 53 Overseas 54 Indigenous Use of Social Media 55 Method and Findings 57 Findings 57 Setting the (Mainstream Media) Agenda 58 Narratives of Outsiders 59 Election Analysis 60 Discourse Among the Orang Asli 63 Informal Online Spaces 63 Common Emergent Themes 63 Cynicism 65 Conclusion 67 References 68 Part II Migrant and Refugee Discourses 75 4 Romance Through Digital Avatars: Online Courtship, Representation and “Catfishing” Amongst Irregular Female Migrants in Sabah 76 Introduction 76 A day in Two Lives 78 Reading Sabah’s Migrant Landscape 79 Marriage and Romance in the Interdict 81 The Labour and Function of Digital Avatars 86 Social Capital of Online Romances 91 Conclusion 94 References 96 5 Grateful Politics: Rohingya and Social Media in the Time of the Pandemic 100 Introduction 100 The Rohingya, Refugees and Malaysia in the Time of the Pandemic 103 Anti-Rohingya Sentiment on Social Media 105 Social Media and the Everyday Politics of Refugees 107 The “Grateful Refugee” and Refugee Agency 108 Countering Anti-Rohingya Sentiment 109 Performing Gratitude 111 Refugee Narratives 113 Hashtag Campaigns 115 Responses to Petitions 116 Conclusion 117 References 118 Part III The “Othered” Minorities 125 6 Confronting Malaysian Indian Stereotypes and State Neglect: The ‘SuguPavithra’ Episode Within Mainstream National Discourse 126 Introduction 126 Structural Limitations to Malaysian Indian Social Mobility 127 The SuguPavithra Channel 130 Rise to Fame 131 Tapping into the Malay YouTube Zeitgeist 132 Public and National Recognition 133 Fall from Grace 135 The Apathetic Malaysian Audience 137 The False Promise of the “Ideal Malaysian” Performance 137 Conclusion 140 References 142 7 ‘Our Online-Ness Matters’: The Construction of Social Media Presences by Malaysian LGBTQ Communities 148 Introduction 148 LGBTQ Communities in Malaysia 150 Meanings, Functions and Management Strategies 153 The ‘Being Out Online’ Persona 154 The ‘Profiting from Being Out Online’ Persona 156 The ‘Promoting Activism by Being Out Online’ Persona 157 Benefits, Drawbacks and the Future 158 Towards Open and Supportive Dialogue 161 Conclusion 163 References 164 8 A ‘Blue Ocean’ for Marginalised Radical Voices: Cyberspace, Social Media and Extremist Discourse in Malaysia 169 Introduction 169 Punitive Anti-terrorism Laws 174 From Hotel Bellboy to ‘Cyber-Jihadist’ 177 Democracy, Postmodernity and Cyberspace 178 The Manifestation of the Discourse of Extremism in Cyberspace 181 Case I: Religious-Oriented Radicalisation 181 Case II: Political-Oriented Radicalisation 184 Case III: Health-Oriented Radicalisation 186 Managing Radicalisation and Extremist Discourse 188 Conclusion 192 References 193 Index 199 This book consists of nine chapters, each an in-depth case study into a specific non-mainstream or marginalized online community in Malaysia. The authors come from diverse backgrounds to talk about how new media can both assist and hinder maligned minorities, ignored ethnicities or the often attacked migrants in their day to day lives. The book makes a strong contribution to Malaysian studies which highlights the other and represents minority viewpoints to challenge the belief that Malaysia’s online space is monolithic and limited to several mainstream discourses in Malaysian scholarship.