Examining the 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake that struck southwestern Mindanao in the southern Philippines, this article explored how President Ferdinand Marcos packaged official nationalist rhetoric to affirm order and stability in the region already besieged by the conflict between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a Muslim secessionist group and the Philippine state forces. Using news and editorial articles from the Times Journal, Bulletin Today and Philippines Daily Express newspapers, this study argued that media representations of the earthquake reinforced Filipino nationalist rhetoric, inclusive of the Muslim population of southwestern Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, which would further legitimise President Marcos’ authoritarian rule. Consequently, the study found that nationalist rhetoric from the government and the media could serve as a framework for post-disaster recovery and development initiatives of Manila in Muslim Mindanao.
Environmental degradation in ecologically significant regions often becomes not only an environmental crisis but also a discursive struggle over meaning, responsibility and legitimacy. This study investigated how environmental degradation in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, one of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems, was linguistically framed in Indonesian online news media. Drawing on an integrated framework of ecolinguistics and critical discourse analysis, the study examined 36 news articles published between year 2024 and 2025 from major Indonesian media outlets. The analysis identified three dominant discourse frames that structured media representations of the mining controversy: the environmental catastrophe frame, the economic justification frame and the conflict of authority frame. Each frame employed distinct linguistic strategies, including evaluative metaphors, technocratic nominalisations and modal constructions, which reflected competing ideological positions among environmental groups, government institutions, corporations and local communities. The findings revealed that media discourse functioned as a discursive arena where ecological values, economic development narratives and institutional authority were negotiated and contested. By uncovering the linguistic mechanisms through which environmental realities are constructed, this study contributes to the growing field of ecolinguistics and extends research on environmental communication in the Global South. The study highlights the importance of more transparent, inclusive and ecologically responsible media discourse in shaping public understanding and environmental governance in biodiversity-rich regions such as Raja Ampat.
Abstract. This article explored the views of two influential reformist thinkers on obedience to the head of state within their respective religious traditions. For this reason, Ibn Taymiyyah and John Knox have been studied individually, but a direct comparison between them remains largely unexplored. Using a qualitative approach based on library research, the study applied classification, inductive and deductive reasoning, historical study and comparative analysis to examine their perspectives. The findings showed that both Ibn Taymiyyah and John Knox agreed that citizens had a moral duty to be loyal to their leaders. Three key similarities and one notable difference emerged in their interpretations. These were explained through theological, historical and contextual factors. Despite the doctrinal differences between Christianity and Islam, especially in their monotheistic frameworks, both thinkers underscored the religious significance of political obedience. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how Islamic thought on political loyalty, as shaped by Ibn Taymiyyah, can be utilised in forming contemporary Islamic political theory.
Abstract. This article attempted to collect vocabulary that is lost in phonological aspects and examined the current variant of its parent language, the Ancient Melayik language (BMP). This study compared vocals and diphthongs between BMP and the Jugra Malay dialect (DMJ) and discussed the innovations and retentions observed in DMJ. Traditionalcomparative approaches and the design of qualitative comparative research are fully used. Comparative findings show five phonological innovations or phonetic (organised and sporadic) and retention and retentions that are lowered in DMJ in the current variant of the City, Kelanang and Pasir Pasir variants. The results of the comparison that existed between these areas reinforced the argument that the DMJ was from the BMP group. This research helps to increase and showcase the connection of the continuation of the linguistic study of the Malay dialect under the Austronesian clump. The source of linguistic information in Selangor shows that the Malays or the Austronesians have lived in the archipelago for a long time. Abstrak. Makalah ini cuba mengumpulkan kosa kata yang hilang dari aspek fonologi dan meneliti kekerabatan varian semasa dengan bahasa induknya iaitu bahasa Melayik Purba (BMP). Kajian ini membandingkan vokal dan diftong antara BMP dengan dialek Melayu Jugra (DMJ) dan membincangkan inovasi serta retensi yang berlaku dalam DMJ. Pendekatan perbandingan tradisional dan reka bentuk kajian perbandingan kualitatif telah dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya. Dapatan perbandingan menyerlahkan lima ciri inovasi fonologi ataupun perselisihan fonetik (teratur dan sporadik) dan retensi yang diturunkan dalam DMJ dalam varian semasa iaitu varian Bandar, Kelanang dan Permatang Pasir. Hasil perbandingan yang wujud antara kawasan ini memperkukuhkan hujah bahawa DMJ adalah daripada kelompok BMP. Penyelidikan ini membantu menambah dan memperlihatkan keterikatan jalinan kesinambungan kajian linguistik bandingan terhadap dialek Melayu yang berada di bawah rumpun Austronesia. Sumber maklumat asli linguistik di Selangor menunjukkan bahawa orang Melayu atau orang Austronesia telah menetap di kawasan Nusantara ini untuk tempoh jangka masa yang lama.
Abstract. This article examined the ideological contestation within Malay Muslim society through a semantic and critical discourse analysis of the terms Kaum Muda and Kaum Tua in William R. Roff’s seminal work, particularly the chapter “Kaum Muda–Kaum Tua: Innovation and Reaction” in The Origins of Malay Nationalism (1967). Adopting a qualitative approach that integrated historical analysis, content analysis and both contextual and critical semantics, the study investigated how these terms functioned as discursive tools to frame reformist and conservative ideologies. Findings revealed that Kaum Muda and Kaum Tua were not neutral descriptors but ideologically loaded categories that constructed perceptions of legitimacy, authority and modernity. Semantic field analysis identified overlapping and contested meanings within networks of related terms, including ijtihad, taqlid, tradition and progress, highlighting the dynamic nature of these labels. The study argued that Roff’s lexical choices reinforced a binary of “innovation” versus “reaction,” while also acknowledging ambiguities that complicated this dichotomy. By situating these terms within the colonial and postcolonial contexts, the article demonstrates their enduring relevance in contemporary debates on Malay Muslim identity and authority. This research contributes to linguistics and discourse studies by showing how language operates as a mechanism of power and ideology in shaping intellectual history and socio-political narratives. Abstrak. Makalah ini meneliti pertentangan ideologi dalam masyarakat Melayu Muslim melalui analisis semantik dan wacana kritis terhadap istilah Kaum Muda dan Kaum Tua dalam karya William R. Roff, khususnya bab “Kaum Muda–Kaum Tua: Innovation and Reaction” dalam The Origins of Malay Nationalism (1967). Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif yang menggabungkan analisis sejarah, kandungan dan semantik kontekstual serta kritis untuk memahami sejauh mana istilah ini berfungsi sebagai alat wacana dalam membingkai ideologi reformis dan konservatif. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa istilah Kaum Muda dan Kaum Tua bukan sekadar label neutral, tetapi kategori sarat ideologi yang membentuk persepsi tentang legitimasi, autoriti dan kemodenan. Analisis medan makna mengenal pasti pertindihan dan makna yang dipertandingkan dalam jaringan istilah seperti ijtihad, taklid, tradisi dan kemajuan, menonjolkan sifat dinamik istilah ini. Kajian ini berpendapat bahawa pilihan leksikal Roff mengukuhkan dikotomi “inovasi” berbanding “reaksi”, sambil mengakui ambiguiti yang mencabar pembacaan binari. Dengan meletakkan istilah ini dalam konteks kolonial dan pascakolonial, makalah ini menegaskan kerelevanan kesinambungan istilah tersebut dalam wacana kontemporari tentang identiti dan autoriti Melayu Muslim. Kajian ini menyumbang kepada bidang linguistik dan kajian wacana dengan menunjukkan sejauh mana bahasa berfungsi sebagai mekanisme kuasa dan ideologi dalam membentuk sejarah intelektual dan naratif sosio-politik.
