Investigating Sarawak collective identity through the narration of Sarawak nation-of-intent among Sarawak facebook users

• Main Author: Hafizan, Mohamad Naim
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: JA Political science (General)
• Online Access: https://etd.uum.edu.my/11271/1/permission%20to%20deposit-embargo%2012%20months-s903234.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/11271/2/s903234_01.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/11271/3/s903234_02.pdf; https://etd.uum.edu.my/11271/

This research investigates the distinct Sarawak collective identity within the context of Malaysia's diverse and often contentious notions of national identity. The Sarawak collective identity, accentuated by historical, cultural, and political influences including the Sarawak State Government's strategic positioning provides a rich subject for exploration and discussion. Utilizing Facebook, this study examines how online interactions on the social media platform aid the construction and reconstruction of Sarawak's collective identity. Through a multi-method qualitative approach that involves thematic, descriptive, and content analysis, this research scrutinizes the underlying narrative structure on Facebook concerning the discussion related to the keyword “Sarawak”. This research used Brand24 social media monitoring tool for its data-gathering process. The tool collected 57,932 posts between December 2018 and January 2019, of which 12,279 were from Facebook, representing 21.2% of the total posts gathered. After data cleaning, 987 high-engagement posts were selected and analyzed using QSR NVivo 12 Plus software while 197 posts were investigated using descriptive and content analysis to gauge users' reactions. From the data, there are six key themes identified: Socio-cultural, Economic, Political, Development, Constitutional and legal, and Border and security issues. These themes reflected the overall complex narrative of Sarawak's collective identity. They also unveiled consistent focal points within the discourse of Sarawak collective identity which are ethnic and cultural identity; historical identity; political identity; religious identity; and geographic identity. The active engagement and participation follow three major phases in the collective identity process, which are: cognition definition of the group; active relationship among members; and emotional recognition and investments between individuals through their mutual grievances and sense of solidarity. The findings of this research hold significant implications for policymakers, strategists, and educators. It provides invaluable insights for more sensitive and informed decisions regarding the complexity of Sarawak's perceived collective identity.