Abbas, Phirdaous and Hashim, Yumi Zuhanis Has-Yun and Samsudin, Nurhusna and Ahmad, Anis Najiha and Al-Saari, Nurhidayu
(2026)
When forests make headlines: how Malaysian newspapers frame agarwood.
QUANTUM JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, 7 (4).
pp. 519-535.
E-ISSN 2716-6481
Abstract
Agarwood (Aquilaria spp.), locally known as gaharu, is a high-value non-timber forest product
that is steeped in complex intersections of cultural heritage, economic opportunity, and environmental
concern. Despite its longstanding significance within Malaysia and across global trade networks, limited
attention has been given to how agarwood is represented in national media. This study addresses this gap
by examining media framing of agarwood in Malaysian newspaper coverage across linguistic contexts.
Guided by framing theory and employing qualitative content analysis through reflexive thematic analysis,
267 articles from four major newspapers (The Star, New Straits Times, Berita Harian, and Utusan
Malaysia) were systematically analyzed. The findings reveal distinct framing patterns between Englishand Malay-language newspapers. English-language coverage predominantly emphasizes governance,
trade, and law enforcement, frequently portraying agarwood as a regulated commodity associated with
illegality, market dynamics, and policy intervention. In contrast, Malay-language reporting situates
agarwood within cultural, religious, and everyday contexts, highlighting its role in traditional practices,
spiritual experiences, and community life. Across the dataset, five overarching themes were identified:
economy and industry, environment, science and education, governance and law enforcement, religion,
beliefs and indigenous traditions, and society and culture. These divergent framings construct agarwood
in dual yet largely disconnected ways, as both an economic resource subject to regulation and a cultural
artefact embedded in social and spiritual life. This separation reflects broader patterns of segmented
media discourse, where economic and institutional narratives rarely intersect with cultural meanings. The
study demonstrates how such framings shape public understanding, legitimizing particular policy
perspectives while rendering others less visible. By offering a systematic analysis of agarwood
representation in Malaysian newspapers, this study contributes to scholarship in environmental
communication and media framing, while illuminating how natural resources are discursively constructed
within a multilingual and culturally layered media landscape.
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