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MALAYSIAN NETIZENS’ PERCEPTIONS OF 1MDB: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS

Background and Purpose: This article analyses the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) political scandal as a case study to examine how an issue is discursively shaped online by netizens’ perceptions of the scandal. The study has two objectives: firstly, to explore netizens’ perceptions of 1MDB and how they reacted to the news reported based on the online exposés appearing throughout 2015. Secondly, it aims to examine whether the discourse regarding 1MDB among netizens on an online platform, The Malaysian Insider Facebook page, meets the characteristics of a practical discourse in an online context, as proposed by Jurgen Habermas. Methodology: A total of 1950 Facebook comments related to 210 1MDB articles in 2015 were analysed. The articles were linked and published by The Malaysia Insider Facebook page. The analysis was conducted using thematic analysis via NVivo software to explore the perceptions of the selected netizens about 1MDB and how the online discourse on 1MDB matched the characteristics proposed by Jurgen Habermas for practical online discourse. Findings: Four themes emerged, namely Najib as the Prime Minister, the 1MDB Debate Controversy, the Opposition position on 1MDB and the investigation of the 1MDB scandal. Based on the online discourse, it was evident that consumption of 1MDB news on Facebook Journal of Nusantara Studies 2021, Vol 6(1) 351-372 ISSN 0127-9386 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol6iss1pp351-372 352 led Malaysian netizens to form their own perceptions of the scandal. The emergent themes also illustrate that the online discourse met the characteristics of practical discourse suggested by Jurgen Habermas. Contributions: This empirical contribution fills a gap in the current knowledge as few studies have been conducted on the online discourse of the 1MDB political scandal among Malaysian netizens. Currently, no research is documented on the 1MDB political scandal from the netizens’ perspective other than the first author’s PhD thesis. This research is, therefore, beneficial to new media studies as researchers normally investigate or explore a specific issue when it has a conclusion; here, a risk was taken to conduct the study while 1MDB was still under investigation.

government as a result of its critical coverage of the troubled state investment fund (Ngui, 2016) It should be noted that the whistle-blower portal, Sarawak Report, which was the source of much of the 1MDB news, was also blocked by MCMC (Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) in 2015, making it inaccessible to the majority of Malaysians during the height of the revelations. TMI had a following of over 403,000 on its Facebook page before it was blocked and was so influential in its coverage of 1MDB that it, too, was banned the following year.
The consistency of reporting by TMI on the news regarding 1MDB, coupled with its large number of followers and the amount of conversation it generates online (based on link shares), make it an excellent source of data which can be sampled to analyse the thoughts and narratives playing out throughout the coverage of the scandal. Some may argue that internationally renowned news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal may provide a more detailed and accurate assessment of the scandal but it is a financial news outlet and this research is more interested in investigating how 1MDB shaped the online opinions of Malaysians. Thus, TMI proved to be a more suitable choice in this context.

Various Interpretations of the 1MDB Political Scandal
The 1MDB saga has been written about by writers who conducted investigations and thorough research to establish the truth about the embezzlement and adopted differing perspectives depending on their research, background and profession. Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, journalists from The Wall Street Journal, wrote the best-selling non-fiction book The Billion This illustrates the second, fourth and fifth elements of Habermas's critical discourse.
The last theme overlaps with Theme 1, 'Najib The Prime Minister', in criticising the authorities over their cover-up. The netizens emphasise that the former Attorney General, Gani Patail, was removed from his position due to rumours that he was about to charge Najib over his handling of 1MDB. And they acknowledge that this was a bold move by Gani Patail. This theme illustrates the six condition in Habermas's public sphere.

CONCLUSION
Within the four themes that emerged in 2015 on the 1MDB discourse, it can be seen that the Based on the findings from the study, it can be concluded that the netizens in TMI had their own interpretation of 1MDB, distinct to that portrayed by the media. Through the comments section, netizens made clear that they saw this as a local issue and demanded that Najib be honest with his opponents in the opposition political party regarding the allegations.
In the online discourse itself, netizens felt that the opposition leaders knew what was right and spoke out to represent the people's dissatisfaction with this issue. Using 1MDB as a case study to analyse the online news discourse, it could be interpreted that Habermas's conditions of discourse have been met in the 1MDB discourse, as the online platform conveys the concerns of the Malaysian people. Everyone can own a social media account which offers freedom of expression, with ease of access encouraging netizens to share their opinions and beliefs publicly in response to what they had read on the 1MDB online platform. In the case of the 1MDB political scandal, the Internet became a networked public sphere, connecting people, increasing awareness of the situation, and giving the public the ability to share public concerns online.
This study has shown that the six elements of Habermas's conditions for a public sphere have been fulfilled in the online sphere because the 1MDB political scandal was highly publicised. Citizens were seen to be highly involved because the scandal concerned the nation.
Secondly, the comment sections in the FB page enabled netizens to exchange views on the issue. The sample of data used in the study indicated that netizens tended to oppose or agree with each other throughout the discourse. Thirdly, each comment will undoubtedly differ from the others because netizens come from a range of backgrounds and cultures and hold different beliefs. Fourthly, in this online discourse, netizens indicated that they agreed with the viewpoints of others; they supported the arguments given by others, although some disagreements arose between them. Fifthly, as the data analysis progressed, the netizens' intentions regarding the 1MDB political scandal became more evident; they persistently demanded the truth about Malaysia's role in the case. Sixthly, in interpreting the netizens' comments, it was found that, in the online discourse, the netizens had frequently pressed for more information and demanded the truth. Thus, this study has convincingly shown that the online discourse on the 1MDB political scandal fits the requirements of a Habermasian public sphere.