Abstract

Statelessness is a chronic social issue in Malaysia, where stateless individuals face structural exclusion from basic rights such as education and healthcare. Despite increasing media attention, research has predominantly focused on legal and human rights frameworks, with little examination of how stateless people are represented in the media discourse. Filling this gap, this study employs Labov’s narrative structure to analyze ten news reports from reliable Malaysian media outlets. Through deconstruction of those reports, three predominant themes emerged: (1) uniform structural patterns in narrative framing, (2) gendered representation inclining toward describing stateless women as “single” or “dependent,” and (3) chronic socioeconomic struggles, including poverty and restricted access to services. Building on these findings, this study applies Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic power to demonstrate how media discourse constructs a symbolic reality that reinforces existing social hierarchies. Through selective language and narrative omissions, stateless individuals are frequently depicted as passive victims, stripped of agency, and further entrenched in marginalization. While such representations may elicit sympathy, they risk perpetuating stereotypes and reducing systemic issues in individual patients. The current study provides a critical perspective on how media narratives operate not only as a reflection of public opinion but also as a mechanism for symbolic domination, mediating public understanding of statelessness in Malaysia.