Pengaruh Institusi dalam Isu 3R (Bangsa, Agama & Raja) di Malaysia: Analisis Teori Institusionalisme Diskursif Dan Konstruktivis (The Influence of Institutions on the 3R Issues (Race, Religion & Royalty) In Malaysia: An Analysis of Discursive and Constructivist Institutionalism Theories)
Abstract
Isu bangsa, agama dan raja (3R) di Malaysia sering dianggap sensitif dan dijadikan alasan mengehadkan kebebasan bersuara. Namun, cara institusi menyelaras dan menyebarkan wacana 3R sehingga membina norma sensitiviti serta batas ucapan masih kurang dibincangkan. Objektif kajian adalah menganalisis bagaimana institusi di Malaysia seperti kerajaan, media arus perdana dan agensi penguatkuasaan menggunakan wacana rasmi 3R untuk membentuk persepsi awam dan mempertahankan legitimasi melalui pendekatan institusionalisme diskursif dan konstruktivis. Analisis kandungan digunakan bagi menilai laporan media arus perdana dan digital berkaitan perbincangan 3R merangkumi kenyataan politik, tindakan undang-undang serta kawalan platform digital. Data terdiri daripada 11 kes dari November 2022 hingga Disember 2025. Hasil kajian menunjukkan institusi menggunakan retorik kestabilan dan keharmonian sosial untuk mewajarkan sekatan hak bersuara sementara 3R berfungsi sebagai instrumen politik bagi mengekalkan dominasi elit pemerintah. Media arus perdana cenderung mengukuhkan naratif institusi manakala platform digital yang lebih terbuka tetap dipantau oleh Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia (SKMM). Kesimpulannya, institusi bukan sekadar penyampai maklumat malahan, berperanan sebagai mekanisme kawalan sosial berasaskan norma dan wacana strategik yang menentukan apa yang boleh atau tidak boleh diucapkan.
Abstract: Race, religion and royalty (3R) issues in Malaysia are widely treated as sensitive and often invoked to curb freedom of speech. Yet how institutions coordinate and circulate 3R discourse to establish norms of sensitivity and limits on speech remains underexamined. This study analyses how the institutions like government, mainstream media and enforcement agencies deploy official 3R narratives to shape public perceptions and sustain legitimacy using discursive and constructivist institutionalism. A content analysis of mainstream and digital media reports covers political statements, legal actions and the regulation of digital platforms. The dataset comprises 11 cases from November 2022 to December 2025. Findings show that institutions draw on the rhetoric of stability and social harmony to legitimise speech restrictions while 3R operates as a political instrument that maintains ruling-elite dominance. Mainstream outlets tend to amplify institutional frames whereas more open digital platforms remain monitored by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Overall, institutions act not only as information channels but as mechanisms of social control using norms and strategic discourse to define what may and may not be said.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/ebangi.2026.2301.14
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