FRAMING THE BORDER DISPUTES OF CAMAR BULAN AND TANJUNG DATU BY KOMPAS AND UTUSAN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Provincial boundary disputes in Kalimantan Island have not been resolved. Boundary issues persisted and this has caused international relations friction between Indonesia and Malaysia. Camar Bulan and Tanjung Datu conflict was one of the most recent border disputes reported by Indonesian’s Kompas and Malaysian’s Utusan Malaysia. Both of these newspapers framed the news stories from different perspectives. Using framing analysis, the construction and interpretation of Camar Bulan and Tanjung Datu issue reported by Kompas and Utusan Malaysia were analysed. The issue begun when an Indonesian Member of Parliament claimed ownership to the land in West Kalimantan and Sarawak in October 2011. This research attempted to uncover how Kompas and Utusan Malaysia framed the issue with the journalistic four-function approach of problem definitions, problem causal interpretations, moral judgements, and treatment recommendations. The findings apparently affirmed that both newspapers see the same reality with a totally different perspective. However, they shared the common view that negotiation can be the best way in resolving the problem of boundary disputes.

Keywords:  journalism; media framing; border news; regionalisation