Malaysia has always been concerned about harmony given that the population is comprised of various races and religions. However, there have also been a huge number of individuals who perceive that they are often marginalized and subjected to excessive action by the Malaysian government. The majority of Malaysian population practice Islamic Sunni and reject any other Islamic teachings including Shia as stated by the Malaysian government. In this context, Shia Muslims in Malaysia have been faced with numerous challenges, including being widely tracked by Malaysian religious authorities for the purpose of minimizing the spread of Shia teachings throughout Malaysia. Nevertheless, the actions taken by the religious authorities have been criticized by several parties, especially the international media and human rights activists. Therefore, this study aims to examine the depiction of Shia Muslims in Malaysia that is reported in the Malaysian media, specifically by a daily Malay newspaper popularly known as Sinar Harian which is owned and linked to the current government’s party. Finally, another purpose of this study is to look at the role played by the newspaper in reporting the minorities in Malaysia, in which in this context refers to the Shia Muslims in Malaysia.

Negara Malaysia sebelum ini telah mengalami pelbagai insiden dan isu yang melibatkan kaum dan agama sehingga telah mendatangkan masalah dari segi perhubungan antara kaum dan agama. Isu-isu yang melibatkan agama dan kaum ini sering kali melibatkan agama Islam, yang juga adalah agama rasmi negara Malaysia. Agama Islam sering kali menjadi subjek yang sensitif kerana ia sering kali dijadikan sebagai alat untuk mengekalkan hegemoni dan status quo oleh pihak kerajaan dalam konteks di Malaysia. Pada tahun 2013, sebuah pertubuhan NGO yang dikenali sebagai COMANGO telah menghantar beberapa tuntutan yang melibatkan hak asasi manusia di Malaysia kepada Pertubuhan Bangsa-bangsa Bersatu (PBB) di Penilaian Berkala Sejagat (UPR). COMANGO telah dikatakan telah membuat beberapa tuntutan yang mencabar kedudukan Islam dan Melayu di Malaysia dan mempromosi seks bebas. Isu ini telah mendapat liputan yang meluas di media akhbar di Malaysia khususnya akhbar arus perdana di Malaysia dan ia dilihat sebagai sebuah isu yang boleh mendatangkan manfaat kepada pihak kerajaan untuk mengukuhkan kuasa mereka dengan memainkan isu ini kepada khalayak umum. Oleh itu, artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji mesej-mesej yang disampaikan oleh akhbar arus perdana mengenai isu ini, iaitu akhbar Utusan Malaysia dan The Star. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan kedua-dua akhbar yang dikaji memberikan liputan yang hampir sama dengan sedikit kelainan. Akhbar Utusan Malaysia dilihat sangat menentang tuntutan COMANGO tersebut dan mengangkat parti UMNO sebagai parti yang memperjuangkan Islam manakala akhbar The Star walaupun dilihat lebih banyak memberikan peluang kepada pihak COMANGO untuk menyatakan pendirian mereka, namun dilihat masih berhati-hati dalam pelaporan mereka mengenai isu tersebut.

These articles explore interpersonal communication in the tourism industry. As the industry faced changes post-pandemic, there is a great reason for the industry to refine people inside the industry, especially the frontliners. Since the frontliners are the first people met and greeted by the tourist, the responsibilities of these groups of industrial players are indeed higher than others. Pieces of the literature suggest that tourism service providers must have expressive communication skills to give a superior product and create a pleasant experience for tourists. Hence, tourism frontliners are expected to be able to express effective interpersonal communication skills both internal and external communication. Interpersonal communication skills in dealing with people are one of the major demands in the industry nowadays.  This has created a skills gap in the hospitality industry, which must be addressed if businesses are to remain competitive. It is suggested that the staff in tourism and hospitality should be carefully recruited and should undergo continual training because their communication skills are a significant indicator of their ability to foster favorable interactions with clients. Therefore, this conceptual paper aims to suggest an Islamic approach to improve current tourism frontliners interpersonal communications through Islamic-based communications. The need for interpersonal communication skills in the tourism industry is also highlighted in this article. An integrated model of tourism interpersonal communication with Islamic-based communication was proposed at the end of the article. It is hoped that this conceptual paper will be a stepping stone for research in tourism communication from an Islamic view.

In 2009, a Hindu mother of three children named Indira Gandhi turned to courts when she divorced her husband, Mohd Riduan Abdullah who forcibly took their youngest child, Prasana Diksa away from her. Riduan, who was formerly known as K. Pathmanathan, had converted to Islam and converted all three of their children without the consent of his wife. He had then obtained custody right for the children from the Sharia court. Indira Gandhi petitioned the civil courts to quash the unilateral conversions of her children's religion and to obtain custody for them. In January 2018, the Malaysian Federal Court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Indira Gandhi, voiding the children's certificates of conversion. Hence, it is deemed very important to study the news that has been reported by the media to the populace, especially in the Malaysian context that is widely known to consist of multiple ethnics and religions. This study will look at how this issue was being reported by three different newspapers in terms of ownership and ideology. This study also applied the textual analysis in analysing the discourses by the newspapers. Based on the findings, it is possible to conclude that there are significant differences in the reporting of this issue in the newspapers.

In recent years, Malaysia has been embroiled with religious conflicts that cause fractions among its citizens. Most of the conflicts involved Islam which is generally known as the official religion of the country. Overall, a total of 60% that represents majority of the Malaysian populations are Malay Muslims, while the remaining consists of other ethnics which include Chinese, Indians, and the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak. In regard to this matter, the minorities tend to have the thoughts that they are marginalized by the government policies imposed on them. Mass media especially the newspapers have been regarded as a powerful tool in disseminating information to the population. Apart from that, it is also known to have a strong influence on the mind of individuals in regard to its reporting on a particular issue. However, it should be understood that they can either help to maintain good relations or cause more harm among the citizens. Hence, it is deemed very important to study the news that has been reported by the media to the populace, especially in the Malaysian context that is widely known to consist of multi ethnics and religions. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to study how a controversial issue was reported by The Star, an English mainstream newspaper in Malaysia in regard to the conversion of M. Indira Ghandi's three children to Islam. Finally, it is worth to note that The Star is owned by a political party linked to the previous regime, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) which has been targeting the middle-class citizens as their audiences.