McDonald’s Malaysia hits back at boycott with an ad

McDonald’s Malaysia has placed a full page ad on Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian, to reiterate its stand that it is not supporting Israel.According to the Malay Mail Online, the ad, which ran on page 11 of the newspaper, repeated its previous insistence that the firm was not related to “any political activity, violence or oppression”.“The real victims of these allegations are friends, workers and families who are the subject of discrimination and our franchisees who are working to make a living,” it said.When contacted by Advertising + Marketing, McDonald's Malaysia said it wishes to clearly state that McDonald’s Malaysia does not support nor condone the current conflict in the Middle East."Like all Malaysians, our utmost sympathies go out to the innocent victims in Gaza," a spokesperson said.The fast food giant added that while it understands and respects that the act of boycotting is an individual decision, it is nonetheless  disappointed that McDonald’s Malaysia has been unfairly targeted."We urge Malaysians to remain calm and to refrain from carrying out any acts that may harm any parties [...] As a consequence, our employees who are practically all Malaysians have had to endure harassment, threat, and verbal abuse. Some of our restaurants have also been subjected to acts of vandalism to the extent that we had no choice but to shut down our operations for the day. The reality is that our employees and franchisees have done nothing wrong, and it is grossly unfair that they should be targeted in such a way," he added.Click to see the full ad:[gallery link="file" ids="61477"]Earlier this week, Advertising + Marketing reported that Malaysians were rallying to create “No McDonald’s Day” as part of a campaign against corporations who allegedly help fund to Israel. McD's has been struggling with the issue in Malaysia for nearly a month and has been fending off allegations that is funding Israel against the Gaza conflict.Last month it issued a statement on Facebook saying:“We wish to reiterate that McDonald’s does NOT channel any sales, profits or franchise fees from our restaurants to support ANY political causes or conflicts in any part of the world. There is absolutely no truth in any online allegations suggesting otherwise. Our core values dictate that we operate our business ethically and to the highest standards. This is a value that we uphold with utmost conviction. In Malaysia, we are proud to be part of the local community –   providing opportunities for local franchisees and careers for 12,000 Malaysians, serving our customers with passion and respect, and actively supporting meaningful causes to enhance the lives of the needy.”In an earlier statement to Advertising + Marketing, McDonald’s Malaysia said, “We are disappointed that the unjustified boycott of our restaurants in Malaysia have caused the vandalisation of a few restaurants and even threatened the safety of our employees.”(Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)