Abstract
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.
Introduction
The death penalty has traditionally been used as a deterrent to serious crimes (such as murder) but has evolved to become an important weapon in the arsenal of “weapons” used in the “war against drugs” worldwide (Goode, 2015; Reuter & MacCoun, 2001). This has often resulted in mass incarcerations of drug traffickers and users in numerous countries (Patten, 2016). In 2021, 35 countries had legal provisions providing for the death penalty for drug-related offenses (Harm Reduction International, 2021). Drug-related offenses generally include possessing, manufacturing, or distributing (trafficking) drugs with the potential for abuse (US Department of Justice, 1994). However, doubts regarding the effectiveness of harsh punishments in deterring criminal behavior in general and the drug trade in particular (Leban & Griffin, 2020; Pratt et al., 2006; Taylor et al., 2016) have been paralleled by global efforts to reform drug laws (Greer & Ritter, 2019; Levine, 2003; Taylor et al., 2016). A growing number of countries have either abolished or limited the scope of crimes for which the death penalty can be imposed (Hammel, 2010; Miao, 2013; Novak, 2016).
Harm Reduction International (2021) has ranked nations that retain the death penalty based on how often it was utilized for drug convictions. Among seven countries that were identified as having a “high application” of the death penalty for drug offenses (China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Vietnam), five are located in Asia. And while the Philippines does not have legislation prescribing the death penalty for drug traffickers and users, the “war on drugs” promoted by Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has essentially manifested itself as a state-sponsored death penalty that has killed thousands (Johnson & Fernquest, 2018; Reyes, 2016; Simangan, 2018).
It has been asserted that Southeast Asia has a “stronghold on capital punishment” because eight out of the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) maintain the death penalty, although its application has varied across these states. The theoretical justification for the death penalty in the region (as elsewhere) rests on the claim that it fulfills three of the four main objectives of justice: retribution, deterrence, and incapacitation (Petcharamesree et al., 2023). As a deterrent, executions are perceived to discourage similar crimes (Wright, 2010; Pratt et al., 2006), while incapacitation—meant to minimize the possibility of reoffending—is achieved by executing the offender. Finally, retribution implements the “eye for an eye principle” by seeking to execute an offender who has killed someone. This objective, however, is not served in cases of drug trafficking because no one was murdered. The fourth objective of rehabilitation is largely ignored, possibly in the belief that those who committed offenses worthy of the death penalty cannot (or should not) be rehabilitated. Interestingly, other considerations that might have perpetuated capital punishment in the region such as political factors, religious traditions, population composition, educational attainment, type of government, and level of economic development failed to find conclusive support across all countries (Petcharamesree et al., 2023).
There have also been some positive developments in the region. In Vietnam, the number of offenses that prescribe the death penalty has been reduced from 44 to 18. Additionally, the death penalty is not permitted for those aged below 18, pregnant women, women with children aged below 36 months, and anyone aged 75 or older when committing the crimes, during sentencing, or the nonexecution of the death sentence. Elsewhere, Singapore amended its criminal code in 2012 to allow judicial discretion over some capital crimes while attempts to make the death penalty nonmandatory for certain crimes were underway in Indonesia, Malaysia (see subsequent discussion), and Thailand. Nonetheless, the authors noted the absence of any shared policy on the death penalty among the member states (Petcharamesree et al., 2023).
Media in the region plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion either for or against the death penalty. This power has been harnessed by the increasingly authoritarian governments that influence media in complex and oblique ways (Chan-Gonzaga, 2023). Boosted by promises to clean up poor past legacies or populist measures, many leaders have accumulated power with apparent popular consent. This allows policies on capital punishment to be determined by governments, with media coverage being shaped directly by ruling interests or through self-censorship, to present them as efforts to keep society safe and prioritize society's welfare rather than individual (or human) rights (Chan-Gonzaga, 2023). The claims of public support for the death penalty in several member states, such as Singapore (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2022), and Indonesia (Hoyle & Jabbar, 2021), reflect the success of these efforts. Consistent with the notion of the feedback loop, information going out to the public through subservient media shapes public opinion to seemingly legitimize the official position. However, Chan-Gonzaga (2023) cautions that the purported public support is, in reality, neither “unconditional nor unnuanced.”
In Malaysia, the death penalty, inherited from the colonial British authorities, was retained and broadened to cover other offenses, such as drug trafficking, with the legal threshold for conviction being progressively lowered (as we shall show). The government-supervised (and oftentimes, controlled) media functioned largely as mouthpieces of the state to shape public opinion in favor of the death sentence (Kananatu, 2022). Malaysia was rated “a high-application death penalty state” (Harm Reduction International, 2021) with 469 people being executed since independence in 1957, of which 229 (or 49%) were for drug trafficking. As of February 2019, 1,281 prisoners held in 26 correctional facilities were awaiting execution, with 73% being convicted for drug crime-related crimes (Amnesty International, 2023a).
The 14th General elections held in May 2018 saw a more liberal government that had campaigned on abolishing the death penalty take office. While it did not succeed in achieving that goal, given its short 22-month stay in power, the momentum for reform was set in motion. The renewed debate in Malaysia regarding the mandatory death sentence revolved primarily around its use on drug traffickers, rather than other serious offenses that occur less frequently. Nonetheless, it was a significant development.
In this paper, we first provide a brief history of the death penalty in Malaysia and discuss how this form of punishment operates. Afterward, we discuss the role of the media in shaping discussions of the death penalty. We then revisited the role of the press by analyzing the coverage of the issue, using content analysis, by two major English-language dailies during this brief period when they enjoyed greater latitude in expression. It was a unique phase that saw the ruling government trying to balance their newfound freedom with loyalty to their political masters who now formed the Opposition. This paper is possibly the first to analyze media depictions of the death penalty during a period when press freedom was ranked highest among ASEAN countries by Reporters Without Borders (The Star, 1 May 2023). Our findings suggest that while the reporting was more balanced, both newspapers restricted their roles to reporting events rather than actively advocating for change, with The Star being more restrained on the domestic debate than the New Straits Times. This was probably the result of two forces: preconceived notions of what their core readership might want and self-censorship—a legacy of long years of subjugation.
The Evolution of the Death Penalty in Malaysia
The death penalty (i.e., death by hanging) in Malaysia is a British colonial legacy, introduced in the first Penal Code enacted in 1936. It mandated the death penalty for serious offenses, like murder and treason, and this provision was retained in subsequent amendments in the postindependence era. Discretion in imposing the death penalty was permitted for some offenses, such as rape/attempted rape, gang robbery, and weapons trafficking (Kananatu, 2022, Hassan, 2020). However, new Acts, such as the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) 1952 and the Firearms (increased Penalties) Act 1971, extended the mandatory death penalty for a wider range of offenses such as drug trafficking and illegal firearms possession and use, respectively.
The first iteration of the DDA did not include capital punishment. This changed with the 1975 amendments to the DDA that incorporated the death penalty, life imprisonment, corporal punishment, or some combination of these penalties for people convicted of drug trafficking. Additionally, the amendments created stricter sentences for the possession of opium and allowed so-called “cautioned statements” (admissions and/or confessions) made to police officers or customs officers admissible at trial. Further amendments, in 1977, established statutory presumptions in which a person apprehended with a specified minimum amount of a drug would be assumed to be trafficking in those drugs. For instance, possession of 100 g of heroin or morphine was presumed to be a trafficking crime. In 1983, amendments to the DDA enacted a mandatory death penalty for trafficking crimes and greatly reduced the amount of drugs needed to trigger the presumption of drug trafficking. The aforementioned 100 grams of heroin or morphine was reduced to 15 g. In just 8 years, Malaysia had added the death penalty for drug trafficking, greatly reduced the quantum of drugs necessary to qualify for drug trafficking, introduced reduced evidentiary burdens so that defendants could be convicted with less evidence, and installed a mandatory punishment of death (Harring, 1991). These changes were enacted and justified as a means to control what the authorities portrayed as an out-of-control drug problem. Mahathir Muhamad, the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981–2003), legitimized the retentionist stand by declaring drugs as the “state's number one enemy” (Bedi, 2020; Kananatu, 2022). Dissenting voices from legal bodies and civil society groups were stifled by the repressive environment that prevailed during that point in time (Kananatu, 2022). The former highlighted the need to respect the principle of proportionate punishment, while the latter argued that it was against human rights.
The opening-up of the democratic space in the post-Mahathir era saw the reemergence of abolitionist sentiments. In 2010, the “Save Vui Kong” campaign received widespread publicity. Vui Kong was a young Malaysian who was given the mandatory death sentence in Singapore for drug trafficking. The massive public support for granting him clemency not only pressured Singapore to enact amendments to its drug law but also forced a reexamination of drug laws in Malaysia (Lehrfreund & Jabbar, 2013). The Malaysian government had added its voice to the widespread support from the Malaysian public calling for clemency for Vui Kong; in doing so, the Malaysian authorities were forced to face a contradiction in their stand because they maintained similar laws. Pressure mounted from the Bar, civil society, and the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) to review laws prescribing the death penalty (Lehrfreund & Jabbar, 2013; Kananatu, 2022).
The sympathetic reaction of lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle saw the government setting up the International Centre for Law and Legal Studies to address the use of capital punishment in Malaysia. To address the argument that capital punishment cannot be abolished without public support, a public-opinion study, funded by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was carried out in association with the Bar Council of Malaysia in 2012. The findings showed that murder was the only crime for which a majority (56%) of participants favored the mandatory death penalty. The support for the death penalty for drug trafficking was between 25% and 44%, and for offenses under the Fire Arms Act, about 45% expressed support. In contrast, only 12% were in favor of the mandatory death penalty for all of these crimes (Hood, 2013).
In 2017, the government amended section 39B of the DDA to give the court the option to impose either the death penalty or life imprisonment, subject to certain conditions by the public prosecutor (limited discretion). This amendment did not have a retrospective effect. Furthermore, the judges can rely on presumptions of drug possession and trafficking that, when invoked, shift the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defendant. The bill failed to provide the judiciary with full discretion to impose sentences and to take into account the mitigating factors of the defendant (Amnesty International, 2023b). Another outcome of the pressure to reform and/or abolish capital punishment was the moratorium on executions announced in 2018, although convicted individuals could still be sentenced to death (Amnesty International, 2023b). While determining causation in criminal justice policy can be complicated (Uggen & Piliavin, 1998), considering that drug arrests have increased since 1983 and intensified between 2014 and 2018 (AIPA, 2019), there is little reason to believe that the reliance on the death penalty has had any deterrent effect.
To summarize, although the death penalty was originally reserved for the crime of murder, its perceived deterrent effect was the justification for expanding its coverage to other forms of crime. In recent times, the death penalty in Malaysia has become associated almost exclusively with drug offenses in the public eye, because the majority of those sentenced to death have been convicted for drug-related offenses (Amnesty International, 2023b). Additionally, the unrelenting official stance against drugs and the media-propped fear of the “drug menace” in the region (Chan-Gonzaga, 2023) have amplified the need for deterrence against this “social menace.”
In the general election of 2018, the Opposition bloc, Pakatan Harapan (PH), made the abolition of the death penalty one of its campaign promises. After they came to power, discussions on delivering this promise faced a backlash from crime victims’ families and Opposition politicians, who sought “justice for the victims” (Abdul Rashid, 2018). As a compromise, the draft of a new bill sought to only repeal the mandatory death penalty and not the death penalty in its entirety (Geraldine, 2019). This proposed change would give a judge full discretion on whether to impose the death penalty or give a defendant a prison sentence for offenses in which a death sentence is currently mandatory. It was an improvement over the 2017 proposal since it covered all death sentences and not just those prescribed under the DDA and provided judges full discretion to decide without intervention from the public prosecutor but fell short of the initial promise to abolish the death penalty entirely. The new government was also considering substituting the death penalty with a minimum of 30 years imprisonment (Abdul Rashid, 2018).
Public sentiment toward the mandatory death penalty was revealed by a more recent nationwide survey (Jun, 2020) of Malaysians aged 18 or above. It indicated general support for the death penalty—with 65% of those surveyed expressing support for it and 31% remaining ambivalent. Pointedly, when subjects were asked by type of crime, 85% felt that the death penalty was appropriate for intentional killings (with nearly 50% asserting that it should be mandatory), 61% favored it for “drug kingpins,” 38% supported it for intentional “drug carriers,” and only 15% favored it for “drug mules.” Among those surveyed, there was an even split when deciding on whether the death penalty or life imprisonment was more cost-efficient, but 83% opined that life imprisonment was a feasible alternative to the death sentence (Jun, 2020). The results were in line with the earlier conclusion of Hood (2013) that at least the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking and offenses under the Firearms Act could be abolished safely without a public outcry.
While not directly relevant to the focus of this paper, some key developments in the period after our research timeframe (2018–2020) merit mention. When the progressive PH coalition was replaced by Pakatan Nasional (PN)—a coalition of Malay and Muslim-based parties and the former long-ruling Barisan National (BN) in March 2020 (Tong, 2020), the push for reform ground to a standstill. It remained in power only briefly and was preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic. A further realignment of allegiance within the PN produced another government-held power between August 2021 and November 2022. Although attempts to revive the reform agenda were apparent, it could not move forward as a general election was called in November 2022.
A new “Unity Government” (UG), made up of PH, BN, and parties from Sabah and Sarawak was installed, and the momentum for reform picked up again. In April 2023, two Bills to abolish the mandatory death penalty and revise death sentences were passed in parliament. While the death penalty is maintained for certain cases, judges now have the option to impose incarceration terms of up to 40 years to replace the mandatory death penalty. The government admitted that there was no support for the deterrence argument as global statistics failed to show a clear negative association between crime rates and the death penalty (Tan, Rahim & Carvalho, 2023). The government also claimed that it had considered factors, such as the feelings of victims’ families, whether the death penalty was proportionate to the crime, and the basic human rights of an offender, before arriving at the decision (Tan, Rahim & Carvalho, 2023). The move provides hope for over 1,000 inmates on death row who may now be spared a trip to the gallows.
Media Coverage of the Death Penalty in Malaysia
A large body of research suggests that media depictions of issues concerning crime and the death penalty are skewed, oversimplified, and, therefore, an inaccurate source of information for the public (Cohen, 1972; Surette, 1990; Jewkes, 2004; Beale, 2006). In the United States, for example, crime stories continue to be featured prominently despite sharply falling crime rates for over a decade since 1990 (Beale, 2006).
In an early treatise, sociologist Cohen (1973) posited that media creates folk devils and causes a “moral panic” periodically. Folk devils are created by portraying a condition, episode, person, or group of persons in a stereotypical fashion and as a threat to societal values and interests. Alongside this, the views of “moral entrepreneurs” (figures of authority) who issue dire warnings, prescribe ways of coping with the problem, and demand strong action are also given wide exposure. Beale (2006) believed that this skewed reporting on crime, is guided by economic and marketing considerations, and is tailored to meet perceived viewer demand. Sensationalized crime stories are also a cost-effective means of attracting readers’ attention. Skewed reporting is also attributed to biases within media, many of which concern elitism, motives of profit, and targeted coverage of specific demographics or interest groups, and subcultures of journalists (Goode, 2015).
Despite academic assertions that media coverage is not a perfect barometer for examining the construction of public attitudes, available evidence suggests that the media can not only shape agendas but also shape public opinion (Entman, 1989; McCombs & Valenzuela, 2020; Soroka et al., 2015), albeit in a skewed fashion. Jewkeys (2004), for instance, attributes this to the fact that the views of the general public about crime and criminal justice are shaped by a range of subtle and not-so-subtle biases, prejudices, and false assumptions that permeate the mediation of crime and justice in media, from production to consumption.
Turning specifically to media coverage of the death penalty, it is evident that the quality and breadth of coverage are rarely comprehensive and are often sensationalized. As Bandes (2004) noted, media coverage has disproportionately focused on the brutality of notorious death penalty cases. This can potentially have dire consequences. Indeed, research has demonstrated that media frames of the death penalty can lead people to unrealistic and/or inaccurate beliefs about how the death penalty is implemented and what types of criminal defendants receive this form of punishment (Niven, 2002). Inaccurate coverage of the death penalty is a concern in and of itself because it may lead to an ill-informed public. This problem becomes self-reinforcing when the media may believe, in part because of inadequate and/or biased coverage of the death penalty, that there is wide support among the public for the death penalty. Since many media members will engage in the type of coverage they believe their consumers want, it prevents the media from being critical and/or highly inquisitive of state actors regarding death penalty policies (Lipschultz & Hilt, 1999). Even if no conscious position on the death penalty is adopted by the media, the nature, focus, and tone of coverage often provide justification for the existence of capital punishment. Bandes (2004) noted that media reports not only an event but also transmits (consciously or otherwise) legal norms and plays a role in creating them. The primary sources of information relied upon by the media are the police or other law-enforcing authorities and therefore media reports the status quo, not leading the charge for change.
Although media coverage can be slanted toward salacious elements of criminal behavior, analyses of media coverage can be used to document the development of changing narratives. The positive effects of in-depth reporting by media have also been documented. In a comprehensive study of articles discussing the death penalty in the United States, Baumgartner et al. (2008) found that different articles discussed concerns about the possibility of innocent people being executed, finding that minority offenders were more susceptible to receiving a death sentence and that many people who received the death penalty had inferior and/or inadequate legal counsel. Such concerns prompted members of the public to reevaluate their blanket pro-capital punishment stand.
In Malaysia, the debate on the continued use of the death penalty was revived when the PH coalition held power for a brief period (May 2018–February 2020). The coalition had made the abolition of the death penalty one of its campaign promises, and its brief rule saw the public airing of both supporting and opposing views on the issue. Media outlets benefited from a reduction in political pressure and harassment and a more open environment for public discussion of issues, previously considered off-limits (Freedom House 2020). It was also a period, as noted previously, when calls to abolish the death penalty peaked (Amnesty International, 2023a). This short window presented the ideal opportunity to study more recent media depictions of the death penalty in general, and drug-related offenses in Malaysia. Specifically, we examined articles about the death penalty in two popular mainstream Malaysian newspapers, The Star and New Straits Times from April 23, 2018 to April 22, 2020. Both newspapers have been frequently used when conducting content analyses of Malaysian media (Singh et al., 2021).
In previous periods, there were concerns regarding bias in the media since many outlets were either affiliated with political parties in the government or catered to members of these coalitions (Sani, 2005). However, after 2018, both The Star and the New Straits Times found themselves being controlled by parties that no longer ruled. The greater space allowed to the press by the PH government was utilized to pursue a more independent policy of news coverage. Malaysia recorded its greatest improvement in the World Press Freedom Index in 2020 (Lim, 2020). It was a unique phase that saw them trying to balance their newfound freedom with loyalty to their political masters who now formed the Opposition. This paper is possibly the first to analyze broadly media depictions of the death penalty during a period when press freedom was ranked highest among ASEAN countries.
Specifically, the current study sought to understand the issues regarding the death penalty that were being communicated to the Malaysian public and how they may have influenced the debate on the desirability (or otherwise) of the death penalty, and how events may unfold in the future. Of course, Malaysian media may try to communicate along certain narrative lines at more subtle levels, but it would be beyond the scope of this study to specifically uncover factors shaping such coverage.
Methods
For the current study, data were collected utilizing a two-stage technique: first, we selected data from sources within our sampling frame (English-language Malaysian media outlets); second, we collected articles from these sources during the sampling frame (articles that had the phrase “death penalty” from April 23, 2018 to April 22, 2020). This 2-year period ended when the researchers began the current project.
In selecting the ideal media outlets for studying media coverage of the death penalty in Malaysia, we selected English-language Malaysian newspapers for two reasons. First, the English media provide space for the views of policymakers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders involved in the debate on the death penalty. Second, they also provide global coverage of the death penalty that might influence the local readership. The two widely read English media outlets were The Star and New Straits Times (Ibrahim et al., 2012; Kee et al., 2013; Samsudin & Ibrahim, 2010; Singh et al., 2021; Wilson & Ibrahim, 2010). To obtain the media articles, the phrase “death penalty” was entered into the search feature for both media outlets. The 2-year period selected coincided with the time the PH government was in power as it had shown the willingness to consider reforms to capital punishment. Within The Star, there were 761 articles, and within New Straits Times, there were 366 articles, giving a total of 1,127 articles. The decision was made to analyze all articles within this time frame rather than sample a smaller number of articles both to avoid periodicity and given the disparate coverage of the death penalty between the two media outlets.
Coding Procedure
One researcher coded all articles in The Star, and a different researcher coded all articles in New Straits Times. The two coders began with a deductive approach and identified six issues, based upon the literature review that would be present within these articles. While coding, the coders also made notes, which were discussed in the subsequently described peer debriefing process, to determine if any additional issues would need to be included within the coding. Thus, while the coders began with a deductive approach, the notes and peer debriefing essentially served as an inductive approach as well. Within the entire written portion of the articles, the two researchers noted if one of six themes existed: (1) Defendant—defined as an individual (or group of individuals) who was (were) either awaiting trial or sentencing in a capital case or was (were) either awaiting execution or had been executed; (2) Legality—defined as any discussion of potential changes or reforms in death penalty legislation, or efforts to institute a death penalty statute when none previously existed or was earlier abolished; (3) Violence—defined as a depiction or discussion of a person(s) potentially being subjected to the death penalty for the commission of a violent crime; (4) Drugs—defined as a depiction or discussion of a person(s) potentially being subjected to the death penalty for the commission of a drug crime; (5) Foreigner—defined as a discussion of a state or nation potentially executing or having executed a citizen of another state or nation; and (6) Popular culture—defined as a purely fictional account of a person being potentially subjected to the death penalty in some medium of popular culture. Additionally, the researchers noted if an article only included a passing reference to the death penalty (typically through the use of the phrase “death penalty” being used in an alternative manner, such as a person being shunned from friends and receiving essentially a “social” death penalty). Lastly, the researchers noted the country in which a person(s) was being potentially subjected to the death penalty or in which death penalty legislation was discussed.
After the researchers coded 20 articles from their assigned media outlet, the researchers conducted the process of peer debriefing by providing the other researcher with a copy of their coding sheet. The two researchers then discussed their articles and coding decisions to ensure that the articles were being coded in the same manner and to discuss any potential questions regarding the coding process. The authors repeated this process after 50, 100, and 200 articles were coded and again, after both researchers had finished coding for the 2 years. No additional salient themes were discovered during the coding process.
Results
General Findings
Analyses began by quantifying the overall prevalence of themes in both The Star and New Straits Times. A series of Chi-square tests of independence assessed whether the prevalence of themes significantly varied by news source. The Chi-square test of independence is a bivariate test of association used to determine whether there are significant group differences in a categorical variable. The test compares observed frequencies in certain categories to the frequencies that would be expected by chance.
Table 1 presents themes within articles for both The Star and New Straits Times. Within The Star, the two most common themes within articles were a discussion of a criminal defendant(s) who were in some stage of death penalty litigation (f = 347; 45.6%) and themes of violence (f = 340; 44.7%). Slightly more than a third of the articles discussed the legality of the death penalty (f = 266; 34.9%) in Malaysia and other countries. Following up on this theme, slightly more than 40% (f = 306; 40.2%) of the articles discussed events in Malaysia illustrating that The Star was more likely to discuss the death penalty in other countries. Slightly more than a quarter of the articles discussed drugs (f = 216; 28.4%) and slightly less than a quarter of articles discussed people who were foreigners in other countries who were in some stage of death penalty litigation (f = 168; 22.1%). Most of the articles that were retrieved discussed the death penalty in a meaningful manner, and very few articles (f = 46; 6.0%) made only a passing reference to the death penalty. A negligible number of the articles (f = 5; 0.7%) had discussions of the death penalty in the context of popular culture.
Themes Across The Star and New Straits Times.
Note. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
As with The Star, the two most common themes within New Straits Times were also discussions of the criminal defendant(s) who were in some stage of death penalty litigation (f = 227; 62.2%) and themes of violence (f = 190; 52.0%). However, in contrast, there was more focus on the legality of the death penalty (f = 155; 42.5%) and discussions of events in Malaysia (f = 185; 50.7%). Slightly more than a quarter of articles discussed drugs (f = 96; 26.3%), and slightly more than 15% of the articles discussed foreigners in other countries who were in some stage of death penalty litigation (f = 56; 15.3%). The vast majority of articles discussed the death penalty in a meaningful way, and only a few (f = 16; 4.4%) passing references to the death penalty were detected. No articles discussed the death penalty in popular culture.
Chi-square tests of independence results are displayed in the final column of Table 1. These tests revealed several significant differences in the content of articles on the death penalty published by the two news outlets. The New Straits Times had significantly more references to the defendant (χ2 = 27.18, p < .001), legality (χ2 = 5.95, p = .02), and violence (χ2 = 5.39, p = .02), compared to The Star, while The Star had significantly more references to foreigners (χ2 = 7.02, p = .01). The New Straits Times however had significantly more articles on Malaysia (χ2 = 11.16, p < .001) relative to The Star. There were no statistically significant differences between the two news outlets in their references to drugs, popular culture, or the use of passing references in death penalty articles.
Table 2 provides a breakdown of the reporting of themes within The Star by the proportion of coverage in Malaysia versus other countries. Articles on issues of defendants (53.7%), violence (50.7%), and foreigners (27.1%) were far more likely to cover events in other countries than in Malaysia. In contrast, stories that discussed legality (53.6%) and drugs (41.2%) were more likely to report on events in Malaysia than other countries. Chi-square tests of independence (final column of Table 2) confirmed these thematic differences in articles discussing Malaysia and those covering other countries. Significantly more articles on countries other than Malaysia dealt with the defendant (χ2 = 29.72, p < .001), violence (χ2 = 16.01, p < .001), and foreigners (χ2 = 16.29, p < .001), while more articles on Malaysia covered legality (χ2 = 77.85, p < .001) and drugs (χ2 = 40.97, p < .001) in comparison to articles on other countries.
Themes Across Country of Focus for The Star.
Note. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
Table 3 provides a similar breakdown of the reporting of themes within the New Straits Times, in its coverage of Malaysia and other countries. A larger proportion of articles on Malaysia focused on legality (50.3%), violence (53.0%), and drugs (31.9%), as compared to articles on other countries. In the case of articles covering other countries, only discussions of the defendant (64.8%) and foreigners (19.6%) predominated. Chi-square results showed that similar to The Star, significantly more articles covering Malaysia mentioned drugs (χ2 = 5.90, p = .02) and legality (χ2 = 9.90, p = .02) relative to articles focused on other countries. Significantly more articles that discussed other countries in the New Straits Times mentioned foreigners (χ2 = 4.70; p = .03) relative to articles that discussed Malaysia. In addition, references to a defendant and violence did not significantly vary by whether or not the articles focused on Malaysia for New Straits Times, while significantly more coverage of other countries in The Star mentioned the defendant and violence.
Themes Across Country of Focus for New Straits Times.
Note. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
Death Penalty Reform
Although most of the coverage of the death penalty reform focused on events in Malaysia, there were reports on death penalty reforms in other Southeast Asia as well. For example, the backlash that followed after the Sultan of Brunei's announcement that those convicted of engaging in homosexual activity could be subjected to the death penalty received extensive coverage in both media outlets. The Sultan's subsequent retraction of that position was also publicized widely. Similarly, the news that Presidents Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka were in favor of the death penalty for drug trafficking offenses received considerable coverage. The former had raised the possibility of introducing legislation that would support a state-sanctioned death penalty for those engaged in drugs, quite apart from extrajudicial killings that were already being permitted. The latter reinstated the death penalty in Sri Lanka after a moratorium had been in place since 1976, arguing that it was necessary to win the war against drugs.
Frequently Reported Stories
Several stories of foreigners being subjected to either death penalty litigation or being executed in a foreign country received wide coverage. In China, a Canadian man, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, was sentenced to death for drug trafficking. A Chinese court reached this decision after Schellenberg had previously been sentenced to 15 years of incarceration for the crime. Schellenberg's resentencing was widely viewed as a retaliation for the arrest in Canada of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. In Singapore, a Malaysian man, Prabu N. Pathmanathan, was executed for drug trafficking. Although human rights groups and the Malaysian government had repeatedly appealed to the Singaporean government for leniency, the appeals were not granted.
Three other stories were frequently reported. Two involved mass killings. In one, Satoshi Uematsu was accused of murdering 19 disabled people in a care facility in Japan where Uematsu had worked. He was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death. The second occurred in the United States. Patrick Wood Crusius was arrested after killing eight Mexicans and wounding another eight in a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas. The last story was on the killing of journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul, Turkey. Multiple articles discussed the possible involvement of the Crown Prince of Audi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. The stories also noted that 12 men had been arrested, and five could potentially be subjected to the death penalty.
Defendant
The majority of the highlighted news coverage was about the theme of a defendant and involved the imposition of the death penalty for drug trafficking offenses, both within and outside of Malaysia. In Malaysia, most of the death penalty offenses involved those charged with murder (under Section 302 of the Penal Code) and drug trafficking offenses (DDA 1952) and included both local and foreign drug couriers (mostly women). Some instances of defendants being spared the gallows after being acquitted of drug trafficking received coverage as well.
News from neighboring countries such as Vietnam was featured and involved reporting on massive drug seizures and the imposition of the death penalty for drug trafficking. Reports from Indonesia, on the other hand, highlighted calls to extend the death penalty to include offenses such as drug trafficking, drug smuggling, and those convicted of corruption during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was also extensive media coverage of foreigners who were caught for drug smuggling offenses in Indonesia. After the execution of the masterminds of the “Bali Nine” heroin smuggling gang, in 2015, Indonesia had taken a softer approach to foreign drug trafficking (largely to avoid the diplomatic backlash) by substituting the death penalty with long prison terms.
In contrast, reports on India focused on sexual violence against women. There was considerable news coverage of four convicted rapists who were sentenced to death for murder and rape. Their pleas to commute or annul the death penalty were rejected by the Indian Supreme Court.
The local newspapers also wrote about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who was accused by the Trump administration of involvement in drug-related crimes, mainly cocaine trafficking. In addition, the dailies provided extensive coverage of those caught for hate crimes in the United States and their ongoing legal battles. The case of the former communication minister of Vietnam who was sentenced to death for corruption was also highlighted. A court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment after he agreed to return the embezzled funds.
Pakistan was in the news on account of its strict blasphemy law; the death penalty is prescribed for those convicted of uttering profanities or showing a lack of respect for Islam. The case of a minority Christian Pakistani woman who was sentenced to be hanged under this law grabbed media attention when she was spared the gallows after the verdict was overturned by the country's Supreme Court. She had already spent 8 years on death row.
The legality issue or the debate on legal reforms about the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia also received extensive coverage in both The Star and New Straits Times. The PH government had assumed power in 2018, promising to completely abolish capital punishment, but this hit a roadblock when families of murder victims protested. Against this was the growing global trend moving away from the death penalty, particularly for drug-related crimes, and the need to maintain the image of the reformist image of the new government. Unsurprisingly, the media gave wide coverage to the new Malaysian government's efforts to salvage its campaign promise by highlighting alternative modes of sentencing to replace capital punishment. Thus, the announced intention of the new government to amend the mandatory death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment received wide publicity in the media. Probably in a move to assuage the feelings of the families of victims of violent crime, both The Star and New Straits Times concentrated on the repeal of the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking offenses rather than for crimes like murder. In line with this, the views of retired senior retired police officers who wanted to retain the death penalty for violent crimes but were in favor of sparing drug couriers from the gallows received good coverage. The views of groups calling for a greater study on the issue before a decision was made were also given media space. For example, Opposition politicians warned the government not to rush into abolishing the death penalty but should, instead, work with the parliamentary select committee on the issue. There were also calls to conduct more studies to gauge public views on the matter before coming to a decision. The dailies also carried the view of the Director General of the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA), who called on the government to find penalties that would be commensurate with the existing death penalty (for drug offenses) before abolishing it.
Both The Star and New Straits Times also reported on the death of an 11-month-old baby who was brutally abused and raped by the babysitter's husband. This development had the effect of causing some lawmakers who argued for the complete abolishment of the death penalty to rethink their positions. They feared that such a move may deny justice to the families of murdered victims and fail to deter violent crimes in the country.
Both newspapers also simultaneously carried news on the moves of the new government to relax some aspects of the strict drug laws in the country. The intention to decriminalize the possession of illicit drugs for personal use was given prominent coverage alongside the fact that the country spent about RM537 (USD118.3) million yearly to rehabilitate people who use drugs (PWUDs) in formal treatment programs.
Moving away from the discussion of seeking alternatives to the death penalty in Malaysia, The Star and New Straits Times also gave prominence to President Rodrigo Duterte's antidrug campaigns in the Philippines that resulted in thousands of deaths. The coverage included police killings of PWUDs, low-level drug traffickers, and couriers. The newspapers also carried the claim by the head of the Philippine police that these drastic measures had little impact in reducing the overall drug supply because of corruption among enforcement agency personnel and the unavailability of the death penalty for drug trafficking offenses.
Both local dailies provided space for developments regarding the death penalty in countries like Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, and the United States, even when they ran contrary to the strand of official thinking in Malaysia. The altercation between Singapore and Malaysia after clemency appeals on behalf of Malaysian death row inmates in Singapore were rejected was accorded wide publicity. Statements by Singapore that the death penalty was a key component of its antidrug strategy received equal prominence in both dailies. The revival of executions in Indonesia after a moratorium since 2017 was reported by both dailies; the newly appointed Attorney General had announced the intention to hang the 308 inmates on death row. From Pakistan came the news that the human rights groups had condemned the death sentence imposed on a lecturer, Junaid Hafeez, who was charged with blasphemy. They called upon the High Court of Pakistan to revoke the sentence. His legal defense was that Hafeez was framed by students from a militant Islamist party because of his secular views. The human rights groups believed that the charges against Hafeez violated international law. In news from the United States, both local dailies highlighted the drop in the number of executions and declining public support for the death penalty, based in part on research findings that showed it discriminated against the poor, minority defendants, and those with mental illness. However, this was balanced out with coverage of Trump's plans to resume federal executions after a 16-year hiatus.
Violence
Reports of violence in Malaysia were not directly linked with illicit drug use, though a few reports alleged that suspected criminals were under the influence of drugs when they committed their crime(s). A majority of the depictions of violence were linked to Section 302 of the Penal Code in Malaysia and not drug laws. To illustrate, a few underage students at a Muslim religious school were charged with murder because they allegedly set their school on fire that killed 23 students who were trapped in their dormitory. Other cases involved individuals alleged to have terrorist links with the potential for violence. Specifically, several political representatives were alleged to have links with the defunct Sri Lankan terror group (Tamil Tigers). A news item of special interest pertained to a statutory declaration made by a convicted murderer who implicated the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, by claiming that it was Najib who had given the instructions to kill a Mongolian woman, Altantunya.
Reports of violence in other countries saw the coverage of mass gatherings in India to seek justice to end sexual violence against women and laudation of the death penalty imposed on the group that brutally raped and murdered a 23-year-old student on a public transport bus. The Indian government's announcement of stern measures against those caught committing child sexual abuse was also highlighted. The local newspapers also covered the imposition of the death penalty on an employee of a homecare center in Japan who was found guilty of stabbing 19 disabled residents while under the influence of cannabis. News of violence in the United States centered on the public slaying and carnage caused by the misuse of guns. Gun violence was related to hate crimes targeted at specific ethnic groups such as Jews and Mexicans, or terrorism-related assassinations.
Protests outside Saudi missions worldwide to remember Jamal Khashoggi's brutal killing received considerable coverage in both news outlets. The demand by women's groups in Turkey to restore the death penalty to address violence against women was also highlighted, as was the news of the execution of individuals who had affiliations with the Islamic State (IS) in Egypt. Similarly, the death sentence pronounced on IS fighters in Iraq found space in the local dailies. Protests against the transfer of 11 French jihadi suspects from Syria to Iraq who will likely face the death penalty were also given coverage.
Discussion and Conclusion
This study sought to provide a general overview of how two mainstream English-language Malaysian newspapers have reported about the death penalty in Malaysia and in other countries. Though Malaysia has been criticized for maintaining a mandatory death penalty for several types of crimes, including the possession of relatively small amounts of illicit drugs, the long-standing official position has defended this claiming that it deters crime. No credible evidence has emerged from domestic or international sources to support this assertion although Malaysia, along with many other countries, continued to believe in the deterrence effect. Earlier efforts at reexamining capital punishment had only succeeded in getting the previous BN government to declare a moratorium on executions in 2010; this came after almost three decades after the death penalty had been introduced in preindependent Malaya (Malaysia) by the colonial authorities.
Media influences public opinion in two ways; one, by taking a particular stand on an issue (or by giving the opposing view a negative slant), or by simply determining the style of reporting on a particular issue. Given that the controlling interests in both newspapers were held for a long time by political parties that formed the ruling coalition (Mohd. Azizuddin, 2005), capital punishment was firmly ensconced in the law books because the authorities favored it. Public opinion supposedly favoring it was presumed only to strengthen this stance because nothing had been done to ascertain public sentiment (Hood, 2013). In societies where crime is perceived as the outcome of individual choice rather than social injustice, deterrence rather than rehabilitation will be prioritized (Greenberg & West, 2008). The former view prevailed under the first Mahathir administration when the drug problem was characterized as a national security threat and media, beholden to the government, reflected this bias during that period (Kananatu, 2022).
Forces against the death penalty were given a boost by the reformist image of the new PH government that assumed power in mid-2018, the lack of tangible evidence showing capital punishment was a deterrent, the rising global sentiment against state-sanctioned executions (especially for nonviolent crimes), and humanitarian concerns. Furthermore, surveys of public sentiments indicated support for abolishing the mandatory death sentence, at least for drug trafficking (by lower-tier mules), and the possession of firearms (Hood, 2013; Jun, 2020).
The freer environment saw the local dailies providing wide coverage of news related to the death penalty, both here and abroad. Our findings show that in the 2 years under review (2018–2020), when PH held power, both The Star and New Straits Times covered extensively issues surrounding the death penalty, both at home and abroad. Furthermore, while both outlets provided comprehensive, and sometimes critical, coverage of executions elsewhere, they appeared to have downplayed the fact that Malaysia engages in the same practice.
The three themes that were covered most frequently were stories on the criminal defendant(s) who were in some stage of death penalty litigation (defendant), potential changes or reforms in death penalty legislation (legality)—(either reforming, introducing, abolishing, or reinstituting it after it was abolished), and stories of individuals executed or facing execution for violent crimes (violence).
The coverage of the theme of the defendant in both news outlets revolved largely around court proceedings for murder and drug trafficking offenses and took the form of reporting events as they occurred. The frequent focus on such events can subtly influence public perceptions of the criminal justice system and the need for punishments believed to be effective deterrents. Thus, the wide publicity gained through frequent reporting of violent crimes and drug-related offenses could stoke fears and passions about them that are disproportionate to their seriousness in reality. This, in turn, translates to unthinking support for, or ambivalence, toward harsh solutions like the death penalty (Bandes, 2004). Indeed, the two surveys on public sentiments about the death penalty (referred to earlier) captured both attitudes.
The legality themes were dominated by the wide coverage of the position of NGOs, and Amnesty International that lobbied for the complete abolition of capital punishment and groups, such as the Bar Council, that viewed the death penalty as being hugely disproportionate punishment for convicted drug traffickers—many of whom were presumed to be trafficking not because they fit the bill but because they were caught in possession of drugs that exceeded the legally prescribed minimum. Coverage of this aspect was more balanced with views of retentionists, abolitionists, and those who believed in partial abolition receiving about equal treatment. However, within such articles, the views of politicians, government officials, law enforcement agents, and victims’ rights groups (who maintained that the death penalty had a deterrent effect) were reported but not challenged. Consistent with Bandes (2004), their coverage merely reflected the status quo and did not add weight to the campaign for change. Also absent were discussions with individuals or organizations that have done independent research on the issue. For example, articles that raised concerns about the death sentence being administered disproportionately to marginal groups as noted in the United States by Baumgartner et al. (2008) were absent. Readers were left to draw their conclusions with very little additional information being made available to them.
While the freer media environment did allow an airing of the views of those who argued that the claims of deterrence might be illusory, the newspapers failed to function as a forum for debating policy positions. Perhaps they saw it as either being beyond the scope of their function, or it may be that they lacked the competence to do so. Perhaps it was also assumed that the core readership would be uninterested in such pieces of writing.
Much of the reporting on violence pertained to violent crimes, not related to drug offenses. But the fact that both outlets provided equal coverage to violent crimes and drug-related offenses crimes could have created the impression that both types of crimes were equally likely to occur and deserve the same harsh punishment. But the data show otherwise; as of February 2023, a total of 1,320 people were on death row in Malaysia, and the majority (68%) were convicted of drug-related offenses that, according to Amnesty International, do not even meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” under international law (Amnesty International, 2023b). While it should not be up to the media to directly tell the populace what to think, the media could have provided a more thoughtful coverage of the different types of crimes that attract the death penalty in Malaysia.
Scant attention was given to the backgrounds of people awaiting executions for drug trafficking, which might have shaped public perceptions about the death penalty. For example, research suggests that many convicted women participated in the drug trade. Not due to poverty but because of economic insecurity. They typically came from poorer countries and acted as drug couriers for a one-time payment to meet an immediate financial need (Harry, 2021). Since these women did not fit the judicial (and general) stereotyping of the female drug mule as one driven by poverty, the danger of adverse inferences being drawn about women mules during trials was real. Imposing the death sentence in such instances would be grossly disproportionate to the crime (Harry, 2021).
As for the other themes, The Star provided more coverage on persons subjected to the death penalty for drug-related offenses (drugs) and execution of foreigners for drug-related offenses by a state (foreign), as compared to the New Straits Times. Of the two newspapers, The Star provided considerably more international coverage while the New Straits Times focused more on domestic coverage. How and why this occurs is an empirical question itself; however, considering that Malaysian media has political affiliations, a trend might have been created to provide more coverage that could be viewed as looking outside oneself rather than looking inward. It might seem easier to criticize (or as least provide a forum in which others can criticize) foreigners sentenced to death or executed in other countries while seemingly turning a blind eye to the fact that the same practice prevails at home. Many of the international stories, such as the death penalty in Brunei, might have also been widely reported because the articles described sensationalized elements in a foreign country. Additionally, the involvement of many popular culture figures, such as George Clooney and Elton John who condemned Brunei, made it newsworthy. News of celebrities taking a stand against some governmental policy is always a story, quite separate from the issues they espouse. This is an example of the media deciding on what they believe their audience wants to read about.
To conclude, the debate on the death penalty revolved around two propositions: to abolish it completely or keep the death penalty but abolish the mandatory requirement for certain offenses, such as low-level drug trafficking. In covering the debate, both news outlets enjoyed two advantages not previously available. First, the government in power had already expressed its willingness to consider reform as part of its election manifesto. In fact, before the election of 2018, a consensus was already building up against the indiscriminate use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses after the Vui Kong affair. This made it easier to provide space for abolitionists, a stance unthinkable in earlier years when the authorities legitimized the use of capital punishment and the newspapers largely reflected the views of the government. Second, a greater latitude was allowed to the media not only for freer reporting but also in the choice of issues to be covered. We found no evidence to suggest that these outlets were being directed to orchestrate a particular point of view. Any imbalance in airing different views on the issue was the outcome of two considerations: one, the perceptions of the outlets on what their readership might want, and second, self-censorship—a lingering tendency from the past. The greater focus of The Star on the experience of other countries to highlight possible consequences to Malaysia if extreme positions on the death penalty are held can be interpreted as self-censoring. On the other hand, the greater attention of the New Straits Times on domestic events connected with the death penalty possibly reflected its new editorial policy “that included more middle-of-the-ground reporting and hard-hitting editorials” (The Vibes, 13 Sept. 2022).
Thus, in the debate on the issue of the death penalty during the period examined, both outlets provided a fair airing of diverse views, already a refreshing change from earlier periods when they reflected only official viewpoints. However, they have not yet begun championing change and remained content with their role of transmitting information in a more balanced manner. Perhaps, this conservative stance will be reversed when press freedom becomes ensconced as a right and not a privilege in Malaysia. News media may then revise their news values in deciding what to present, and how to present them.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
