Rhetoric and realities Malaysian television policy in an era of globalization

Abstract

This paper identifies and evaluates Malaysia's television policy in a period of change. A period, that is, which sees the transnational media becoming more dominant and influential in this region. A period, on the other hand, which also sees Malaysia's policy makers arguing in the international arena for ‘Asian’ values and, domestically, for ‘Islamic’ values. By locating the development of Malaysian television and its contents within these wider proclamations of intent by the powers that be, this paper argues that while these declarations give the policy makers much political mileage and may help them ‘look good’ in the local and international arenas, in reality, all is not what it seems with Malaysian television. What this paper argues is that while the rhetoric of ‘Western media/ cultural imperialism’ is constantly evoked by the policy makers in Malaysia to imply that they are ‘Malaysianizing’ the medium of television, current practices and trends indicate that it is very much ‘business as usual’, with ...