Sentiments of Malaysian Newspapers During The Movement Control Order (Mco) Phase 1: Economic and Consumer Content Analysis

The delivery of news plays a crucial role in society, especially during times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the world, leading to a shift in daily lives and the emergence of the "new normal." Newspapers have a vital role in delivering news to the public, setting the tone and message during times of crisis. This paper focuses on exploring the sentiments and themes related to economics and consumption reported in major Malaysian-language newspapers during Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order (MCO), which took place from March 18 to March 31, 2020. The study employs a content analysis approach to identify the main themes of news related to economics and consumption during this two-week period. The analysis focuses on two major Malaysian-language newspapers, namely Berita Harian and Harian Metro. The collected news articles were categorized based on titles, issues, and themes, specifically related to economics and consumption. The findings of the study reveal that the main themes in both newspapers revolve around the government's responsibility in ensuring an adequate supply of essential goods. Additionally, the newspapers extensively cover the government's role in stimulating the economy through general and special assistance programs, as well as providing information about economic sector procedures for operation. Overall, the tone conveyed by both newspapers is positive, highlighting the government's efforts in providing information about lifestyle changes and introducing assistance measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights the significance of newspapers in shaping public sentiment during a crisis and provides valuable insights into the economic and consumer-related content during Phase 1 of the MCO. The findings can contribute to a better understanding of public perceptions and government initiatives in managing the pandemic's economic impact. Further research can explore the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and consumer behavior, as well as the evolving role of media in shaping public sentiment in crisis situations.


Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects on the entire world.This is a major event that requires swift assessment and response.Many countries have made difficult Vol 14, Issue 2, (2024) E-ISSN:  To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARAFMS/v14-i2/21192DOI:10.6007/IJARAFMS/v14-i2/21192 Published Online: 21 April 2024 decisions to 'close' their countries to contain the spread of this outbreak.Malaysia is among the first countries in Southeast Asia to implement the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to the escalating crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.The Coronavirus  outbreak is an infectious disease that can cause respiratory illness, such as a cold with symptoms of cough, fever, and difficulty breathing that can lead to death.As a measure to contain this outbreak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia declared Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order on March 18, 2020, until March 31, 2020.This order is based on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988and the Police Act 1967(National Security Council, 2020).On March 25, 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that the Movement Control Order (MCO) was extended until April 14, 2020 (Phase 2) and on April 10, 2020, once again the MCO was extended until April 28, 2020 (Phase 3).Furthermore, on April 23, 2020, the Prime Minister announced that the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) Phase 4 would be extended until May 3, 2020.The Conditional Movement Control Order was introduced on May 4, 2020, with the main objective of reopening the national economy in a structured manner and this allows for the resumption of operations in several economic sectors but must comply with the established standard operating procedures (SOP).On June 7, 2020, the Prime Minister declared that the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) would end on June 9 and be replaced by the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO).which is effective from June 10 to August 31, 2020, and on August 28, 2020, the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) was announced to be extended until December 31, 2020.Monitoring is conducted from time to time to ensure that the public complies with SOPs in the new norm to break the chain of transmission of the COVID-19 outbreak in this country.Most studies on media conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic revolve around the issue of misinformation.Islam et al (2020) conducted a study on 2,311 news articles regarding rumors, stigma, and conspiracy theories in 87 countries and found that most of the fake news revolved around methods of disease transmission and death rates.Additionally, the existence of misleading news has also affected the mental health of travelers from China (Zheng et al., 2020).A study conducted by Brennen et al (2020) found that 59% of inaccurate information in the news was news that had been reprocessed from original news, while 38% of it was selfgenerated news.Other mass media studies by Shelby et al (2020); Aslam et al (2020); Jurkowitz (2020) focus on the sentiments played by newspapers and television regarding the issue of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020.Criteria such as fear, trust, sadness, and anger greatly influence readers' sentiments towards the news broadcasted during the COVID-19 pandemic.A study on Letters to the Editor was conducted on The Star Online newspaper by Siti Aesiha and Syamimi, which found that letters referring to the COVID-19 pandemic had negative connotations and were filled with emotions (Joharry & Turiman, 2020).A study on consumer behavior was conducted by S.M. Arafat et al (2020) found that most panic buying reports discussing the causes and impacts occurred in developing countries.

Research Methodology
The news articles on economics and consumption studied were based on news published in major Malay-language print media, namely the newspapers Berita Harian and Harian Metro.According to NSTP, the readership of Harian Metro has increased to reach 3 million in 2019 compared to 106,000 people in 1993 (NSTP, 2020).This newspaper is the best-selling Malaylanguage tabloid in the market.The readership for Harian Metro is aged between 18 -35 years old, while for Berita Harian is for those aged 35 years and above (Prima, 2020).For this study, the authors feel that the criteria of the readership spectrum have been met because both of these Malay-language newspapers have readers ranging from 18 years and above, encompassing youth and adult groups.The method used by the authors is content analysis.This method was chosen due to its suitability with the type of study conducted.The analyzed news are print news and not digital news.These print news articles were physically collected from March 18 to March 31, 2020.This is in line with the dates of Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order implemented across Malaysia for 2 weeks at that time.These news articles were taken only from local and national news sections, excluding business sections.The analysis method will be divided into two parts.First, the news articles from Harian Metro and Berita Harian will be separated according to titles, issues, and themes under two issues, namely economics and consumption.Second, frequency calculations will be conducted for the resulting themes, and cumulative percentage calculations will be made for the resulting themes.

Findings and Discussion
Tables 1 and 2 show the headlines of news related to economic matters from the period of March 18 to March 31, 2020.Economic-related news from both newspapers were separated by issue and theme.During this period, there were a total of 18 economic news articles in Berita Harian and 13 economic news articles in Harian Metro.  3 and 4 show the headlines related to consumer issues from the period of March 18 to March 31, 2020.Consumer-related news from both newspapers has been categorized according to issue and theme.During this period, there were a total of 11 consumer-related news articles in Berita Harian and 6 in Harian Metro.

KPDNHEP Authorizes Mask Imports
The government sets a ceiling price increase to RM2.

Government effectively controls prices of goods.
Hiding Masks Leads To Shortages In The Market Some profit-seekers easily sell on the illegal market at high prices.
Increase in fraud cases during PKP, especially in face mask trading.

Meat, Egg Supplies Adequate
Meat and egg supplies are sufficient to meet domestic demand.
Government ensures sufficient supply of basic necessities.

Food Supply Ensured -Ismail Sabri
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry assures food supply for the needs of the people.
Government ensures sufficient supply of basic necessities.

Special Committee Ensures Uninterrupted Supply
This committee will ensure that food and supplies are not only produced but also delivered and packaged.
Government ensures sufficient supply of basic necessities.

PPR Tenants, DBKL Exempt
From 3 Months' Rent The Ministry agrees to waive business premise rental payments for 6000 tenants.
Government provides convenience to business premises.

Sufficient Supplies With
No Price Increases KPDNHEP mobilizes 2500 enforcers to ensure compliance with regulations.
Government ensures sufficient supply of basic necessities.

Free Internet Starting April 1
Free internet provision with 1GB quota per day starting April 1 until the end of PKP.
Internet is also a basic necessity during PKP.

Support For Free Internet
Welcoming the special free internet package from April 1st until the end of MCO Internet is also a basic necessity during MCO Table 5 shows the frequency and cumulative percentages for economic-related news published in the newspapers Berita Harian and Harian Metro during the period of March 18 to March 31, 2020.Overall, a total of 31 economic-related news articles were published in both newspapers during Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order (MCO).The most frequent themes of news articles revolved around government initiatives to support the continuity of Malaysia's economy and explanations regarding the operating hours of business premises during Phase 1 of the MCO.Both of these aspects could facilitate economic activity amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.During Phase 1 of the MCO, both of these themes were published 6 times each.Additionally, themes that appeared 5 times in the first 2 weeks of the MCO period specifically focused on government allocations for the people.Furthermore, themes discussing the impacts of the MCO, which have affected several economic sectors due to limitations on physical movement, were published 3 times, similar to news articles highlighting the government's efforts and concerns in combating the outbreak.Additionally, news articles providing explanations about the types of businesses not allowed to operate during Phase 1 of the MCO were published twice.Themes such as the increase in the cost of living, the priority of cash sales over credit sales, the promotion of online services to facilitate transactions, the importance of the food industry compared to other industries during the MCO, the impact on the tourism sector, and cases of income loss due to the MCO were among the other themes arising from economic-related news articles, each with a frequency of 1 for each theme.6 shows the frequency and cumulative percentage of news related to consumer issues published in the newspapers Berita Harian and Harian Metro for the period of March 18 -31, 2020.Overall, a total of 17 consumer-related news articles were published in both newspapers during Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order.The most frequent theme of the news articles revolved around the government's assurance to the public as consumers that essential goods were sufficient, with this theme being reported 5 times throughout the twoweek period.Themes that appeared twice each included sudden increases in demand for basic goods, increased incidents of fraud in purchasing goods, the recognition of the internet as an essential need during the Movement Control Order, and public concerns about potential shortages of essential goods.Additionally, themes such as focusing on critical product streams, early stock provisioning, government price controls, and government assistance to businesses were reported once during the two weeks of Phase 1 of the Movement Control Order between March 18 and 31, 2020.

Conclusion
During the economic uncertainty that accompanied the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, it is reasonable that issues related to health and the economy dominated the headlines of major newspapers.This study found that, for economic-themed news, only 31 articles were published in Berita Harian and Harian Metro newspapers, while 17 articles focused on consumer-related topics were published in the following newspapers.The main themes for both of these issues revolved around the government's responsibility to ensure an adequate supply of basic goods.Additionally, key themes concerning the government's role in stimulating the economy by introducing general and special assistance for the people, as well as providing explanations on the procedures for economic sectors to operate, were also priorities for publication in major Malay-language newspapers.In conclusion, the tone conveyed by both of these newspapers is positive, highlighting the government's efforts to provide information to the people about changes in lifestyle norms, while also introducing assistance measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table 5
Frequency and Percentage (Economy)

Table 6
Frequency and Percentage (Consumer Issues)