MCDONALD’S Malaysia has filed a defamation suit against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group in Malaysia for allegedly defaming the company.McDonald’s insists it does not channel any sales, profits, royalties or franchise fees from restaurant operations to support any political cause or conflict.“While we understand and respect that boycotting is an individual decision, we believe it should be based on facts and not false allegations,” it said in a recent statement.The company said their businesses had suffered, putting their blame on the non-governmental organisation (NGO). A boycott campaign against the brand is still ongoing in Malaysia. It started after the Israeli attacks on Gaza.McDonald’s Malaysia (Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd) also reportedly said the actions of individual franchises in another country cannot be considered a global action, company policy or an official political stance taken by McDonald’s globally.“The actions of McDonald’s operators in Israel are examples of intended individual actions and they are not global decisions and are not approved by any other local operators,” it added.BDS Malaysia, in a statement shared on X, said they had received a writ of summons from McDonald’s Malaysia.“We categorically deny this. We have therefore decided to let the court decide on the matter. BDS Malaysia has engaged the services of legal firm Raja Riza and Associates.“After consulting with our lawyers, we will issue a more detailed statement.”BDS Malaysia, a registered NGO, urged the Malaysian public, organisations and the government to boycott Israel and entities associated with Israeli actions against Palestinians. Notable targets encompass well-known brands like McDonald’s, KFC and the fashion label Zara. – Dec 30, 2023
