THE anger against Israel following its retaliatory attacks on Gaza is still raw among Malaysians, especially Muslims.
Don’t expect these sentiments to subside as the number of casualties increases daily, with over 10,000 Palestinians, including babies and women, killed.
United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has described Gaza as a “graveyard for children”.
It is not just Muslims but people of other faiths who have rightly asked if this is a war against Hamas or ordinary Palestinians who have no part in the attacks.
Not every Palestinian is a supporter of Hamas and certainly not every Palestinian is a Muslim.
Likewise, not every Israeli is a Zionist. There are plenty of secular Jews, who have openly opposed their government.
But we all agree that this is a genocide. It doesn’t help to argue which side started this madness. It must stop.
Huge protests have taken place in London on a weekly basis while 120 countries have voted in favour of a UN General Assembly call for a humanitarian truce.
They included China, France, Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal and Singapore.
But as the war escalates, Muslim consumers have realised their economic powers and their targets now include popular US-based fast-food chains.
The No. 1 pick seems to be McDonald’s after its Israeli franchisee offered free meals to Israeli soldiers.
This has resulted in a backlash against the popular burger chain across the world with many consumers largely unaware that their local franchisees have no part in what their Israeli counterpart had done.
In Malaysia, for example, it is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s Lionhorn Company Pte Ltd since 2017.
It had to issue a statement to make known that McDonald’s Malaysia “does not condone the current conflict” and “like all Malaysians, our utmost sympathies go out to the innocent victims in Gaza”.
McDonald’s Malaysia said, “Our employees, who are practically all Malaysians, have had to endure harassment, threats and verbal abuse” with some of its outlets subjected to acts of vandalism while others had to shut down operations for the day.
It has to be pointed out that McDonald’s Malaysia is 100% Muslim-owned and certainly the majority of its staff are Muslims.
It has been contributing to zakat payments every year and as of 2023, it has contributed over RM12mil for the purpose.
The media have reported that other McDonald’s franchises in primarily Muslim countries in the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait, as well as in Asia have issued statements that oppose the stance taken by McDonald’s Israel.
The McDonald’s franchise model allows each location to be owned and operated independently from the brand, a report said.
Michael Seid, a managing director at the franchise consulting firm MSA Worldwide, told Newsweek that each McDonald’s is “an independently owned and operated business and the franchisee has the flexibility to do a lot of things,” noting that “McDonald’s has no control over that”.
In the case of KFC and Pizza Hut in Malaysia, they are operated by QSR Brands, with KFC Holdings Bhd as the investment holding company.
To put it simply – the state-owned Johor Corporation (JCorp) is the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut local franchises.
Starbucks Coffee in Malaysia is owned by Berjaya Food Bhd with outlets across the nation.
Again, Berjaya is one of the largest donors to the Humanitarian Trust Fund for the People of Palestine, through Berjaya Starbucks and RedTone Digital. Like other fast-food chains, the staff at Starbucks are predominantly Muslim.
In the case of Grab, it has found itself in a sticky spot with Malaysians calling for a boycott on its super app after stories of the wife of Grab CEO Anthony Tan went viral on social media.
She had posted that she “fell completely in love with Israel” after visiting the country twice, which was seen as being sympathetic to Israel. The impact has been severe.
The delivery service company had to go on damage control mode, saying it did not support any form of violence and stood on the side of humanity.
Tan’s wife, Chloe Tong, has said her “Instastories were done before I understood all that is happening with Israel and Gaza” and “I am simply saddened and feel very helpless for all the innocent lives lost.”
There are 300,000 Malaysians who are registered as GrabFood delivery partners, besides 100,000 ehailing drivers.
Again, the majority of them are Muslims.
A lot of Malaysians depend on them for their livelihood while we consumers need them to send us to our destinations or deliver food to our doorsteps.
As the calls for a ceasefire by the world are ignored by Israel – a stand supported by the United States – every rational and compassionate person, regardless of their faith, must pressure for a cessation of hostilities.
That is the official stand of 120 countries with only 14 voting against the UN resolution and 45 abstentions.
Those against included Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Fiji and the United States while the abstainers included Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Monaco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.
Like it or not, many of us rely on products from many Western countries in our daily lives, as well as trade with these countries.
A look at these countries which have abstained or voted outright against the resolution for humanitarian truce would give us an idea of how we would stand against these powerful nations.
Why was it so hard to get these countries to call for a simple humanitarian ceasefire, for anyone who just wants peace, or are we to believe a ceasefire will help Hamas, which we have been asked to believe?
Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal has reminded the media to be mindful of describing Hamas as a terrorist or militant group.
This is the result of the media fetching articles from international Western news agencies without the Malaysian media editing these news copies sensitively. It is certainly a good reminder.
While Hamas is no angel and frowned upon even by some Arab countries, let’s not forget that the African National Congress led by the late Nelson Mandela was also branded a terrorist.
A boycott of any products is the right of any Malaysian consumer, but we also need to be mindful and discerning in our actions.
Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot in our calls for a boycott, especially if it ends up hurting our fellow countrymen.
Will anyone of us stop using Waze because it is created and funded by Israelis, although it has been acquired by Google, or will we now call off our next holiday to London because British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is so blatantly pro-Israel?
Perhaps, stop watching Korean dramas because the South Korean government chose to abstain instead of voting for the UN peace resolution?
Let’s not pick on our Malaysian business groups, which just happen to be franchisees.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has rightly made the decision to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco. No one can question his impeccable track record in fighting for the Palestinians. But he also has to balance our country’s interests in a responsible manner.
Even Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is attending the meeting, is scheduled to meet US President Joe Biden.
The Sultan of Brunei is also expected to be there as well.
So, imagine the consequences of the PM staying away from the meeting.
It is better that we remain focused, impactful and effective, in our solidarity with Palestine.
