Manifesto pilihan raya dan prestasi parti politik utama Malaysia dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13: Suatu analisis linguistik (Election manifestos and the performance of main political parties in the 13th Malaysian General Election – A linguistic analysis)

Abstract

Manifesto adalah pernyataan bertulis yang diwacanakan kepada publik mengenai kepercayaan, dasar, dan apa yang ingin dilakukan oleh parti politik, khususnya dalam pilihan raya sesebuah negara. Dengan demikian, manifesto dapat dilihat sebagai wadah ‘kesampaian’ parti politik dengan bakal pengundi di dalam pilihan raya. Oleh itu, bagi setiap pilihan raya – umum atau kecil – pembikinan manifesto merupakan sesuatu kelaziman dan diperkirakan penting oleh parti politik yang bertanding. Makalah ini membincangkan manifesto parti Barisan Nasional dan Pakatan Pakyat di dalam PRU 13. Perbincangan menjurus perspektif linguistik, khususnya dalam kerangka pemikiran ‘bahasa sebagai wadah kehidupan sosial’, dengan meneliti bagaimana linguistik dimanfaatkan dan bermanfaat di dalam penghasilan manifesto bagi mencapai hasrat politik. Analisis dilakukan secara deskriptif, interpretatif, dan kritis terhadap aspek linear dan non-linear teks berdasarkan ilmu analisis wacana. Analisis deskriptif menghuraikan sifat tekstual secara mikro, seperti nahu, leksikal, dan modaliti. Analisis interpretatif pula merekonstruksi pembinaan manifesto secara makro, seperti superstruktur, interdiskursiviti, dan aspek non-linear. Analisis kritis merumuskan secara perbandingan serentak sifat mikro dan makro kedua-dua manifesto dengan memperkirakan kaitannya dengan pencapaian parti-parti politik berkenaan di dalam PRU 13 Malaysia 2013.

Katakunci: analisis linguistik, Barisan Nasional, manifesto, Pakatan Rakyat, Pilihan Raya Umum, wacana

A manifesto is a written statement specifically designed during a country’s election to address and inform the public regarding a political party’s philosophy, policies and action plans. In so doing, a manifesto is seen as a means to reach potential voters by the political party. As such the very construction of a manifesto is crucial in influencing the electoral fate of any contesting political parties. This study analyses the linguistics of the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat manifestos in the 13th GE of 2013 premised, in particular, on the theoretical framework of ‘language as a means in social life’ . The focus was to examine how linguistics was capitalized and utilized in producing a manifesto that can serve and achieve a particular political interest and goal. A set of linguistic analyses was conducted, namely, the descriptive, the interpretative and the critical based on linear and non-linear aspects of texts discourse . Descriptive analysis explains micro textual features such as grammar, lexical and modality. In contrast, interpretative analysis reconstructs manifesto in macro terms such as the superstructure, inter-discursivity and non–linear aspects. Critical analysis then concludes by comparing simultaneously both micro- and macrofeatures of the manifestos by taking into account their relationships to the electoral performance of the political parties involved in the Malaysian 2013 GE.

Keywords: Barisan Nasional, discourse, general election, linguistic analysis, manifestos, Pakatan Rakyat Pendahuluan