Treating and healing Malaysia: A Critical Analysis of Najib Razak's Metaphors

• Main Author: Rashid Ali, Farrah Diebaa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics. 2021
• Subjects: JF Political institutions (General); JF2011 Political parties; JF225 Organs and functions of government; JF331 Parliamentary government; JQ Political institutions Asia; JQ1062 Public Administration in Malaysia; JQ715 Politics and Government in Malaysia; JQ719 Elections in Malaysia; PI Oriental languages and literatures; PL5101 Malay
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/104589/2/JALA%202021%20PUBLISHED%20PAPER%20TREATING%20AND%20HEALING%20MALAYSIA.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/104589/; https://jala.pub/

This paper discusses the vocational roles constructed by Najib Razak, the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia for himself, the government, and the relational identities for the people and others in nine Supply Bills read by him (2010 – 2018). This study was modelled upon Charteris-Black’s Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) and Sack’s Membership Categorisation Analysis (MCA) as frameworks. The findings indicates that Najib Razak and the government played the role of a medical doctor while the people and others have been conceptualised as patients and pre-term babies, suffering from a global economic downturn, the Asian Financial Crisis, global economic recession, poverty and bribery. The people and others as patients have to depend on the government for health and recovery. This further emphasises the independent, heroic role played by the government and the weak, dependent role expected of the people and others. Through these metaphors, the people were reminded that without the government to treat and heal the people and others, it is impossible for the country to develop healthily. Therefore, the use of metaphors in the Supply Bills has served the predicative, empathetic, ideological and mythical purposes.