Portraying the Poor: The Media and Poverty in Malaysia

T h e contemporary Malaysian population is multi-ethnic and multi-religious, with three major e thnic groups- Malay, Chinese and Indian- and numerous other ethnic minorities ( including Iban, Kadazan, Bajau and Muru t) , particularly located in East Malaysia. According to 1997 estimates (Bank Negara Malaysia Annual Report, 1996), Malaysia has a total population of 21.7 mill ion. O f these, more than 17 million (78.3 per cent of the total population) are located in Peninsular Malaysia. And the ethnic composition of this 17 million is as follows: 9.8 million (57.7 per cent) are Bumiputera (Malay and certain other indigenous groups), 4.6 million (27.1 per cent) are Chinese, and 1.5 million (8.8 per cent) are Indian. Given its mult i-ethnic nature, not surprisingly, Malaysia's history1 has been dominated by ethnic-based parties and ethnic politics since it attained independence. The three major political parties that form the basis of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition government, for instance, are ethnic-based '. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to suggest that ethnic preoccupat ions cont inue to dominate Malaysian society, where there is a deep sense of being part of specific e thnic and cultural communities. T h e B N coalition, headed by Mahathir Mohamad since 1981, came into being in 197