McDonald's MY denies providing aid to Israel, calls claims 'baseless'

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McDonald's Malaysia has denied channelling aid to Israel, labelling the claims a "lie and slanderous" amidst WhatsApp messages calling for the boycott of the brand. MD and local operating partner of McDonald's Malaysia, Azmir Jaafar, said the boycott is "unfounded". He added that Gerbang Alaf Restaurants, which operates the McDonald's business in Malaysia, has been fully taken over by Saudi Arabia's Reza Group with a local business partner since 2017, in which the company's equity is owned by Muslims.

"As a local company, we would like to emphasise that McDonald’s Malaysia does not contribute, support or engage in any political or religious conflict in any country whatsoever," he added. Azmir added that the situation in the Middle East is indeed something to be very sad about, especially in the midst of Ramadan and the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this does not mean that "baseless and defamatory allegations can be thrown lightly", he said.

This is not the first time McDonald's Malaysia has come under fire for allegedly supporting Israel. In 2017, Azmir also said the accusations levelled against McDonald's for allegedly channelling funds to Israel were untrue, a blatant lie and slanderous. It also clarified previously that Gerbang Alaf Restaurants is a locally-owned company and lodged police reports against individuals and groups who made the false allegations via social media and other channels to boycott its restaurants in Malaysia. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission was also alerted to take further action.

"We will also not hesitate to take legal action to protect the rights and interests of our company as well as the more than 15,000 locals who work with us," Azmir said. He also said McDonald's Malaysia has never been involved in any agenda that supports Israel.

"In fact, our clarification on this issue has been well received by major NGOs such as the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association, MYCARE, Aqsa Syarif, Palestine Center of Excellence and Viva Palestina Malaysia," he added.

Tensions between Palestine and Israel escalated in early May, resulting in violence and air strikes on both sides. The conflict has raged on despite world leaders and the United Nations stepping in to mediate. Reuters reported that the US called Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates on Monday and a US envoy to the region also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. At the same time, Egypt and the UN have also doubled down on diplomatic efforts while Reuters said the UN General Assembly will be meeting on Thursday to discuss the violence.

Photo courtesy: 123RF