KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The Palestinian ambassador to Malaysia cautioned Malaysians yesterday against targeting local workers in companies such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, saying their employers’ alleged links to Israel “cannot always be verified”.
In an interview with English daily The Star, Dr Anwar Al Agha said Malaysians should instead direct their frustration to the United States for directly supporting Israel with funds and armaments.
“It would be better if the people go and protest at the US administration and pressure them to stop funding the Israelis with sophisticated weapons,” Dr Anwar told The Star.
The envoy pointed out that the US had just recently approved an additional US$225 million (RM718.8mil) in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
He also backed the workers of local companies targeted by anti-Israel sentiments, saying it is unfair for fellow Malaysians to subject them to harassment and attacks when they are merely trying to earn a living.
Despite admitting that a boycott could also pressure Israel, Anwar warned against accepting social media posting about any company’s so-called links with Israel blindly.
On Sunday, Muslims NGOs launched a month-long campaign called Bulan Kemarahan Ummah (The Month of Ummah’s Wrath) where a concerted boycott will be called against fast food franchise McDonald’s, coffee chain Starbucks, and British bank HSBC
The Muslim NGOs vowed to undertake “peaceful boycotts” against the three companies as part of the anti-Israel campaign, but also named soft drink brand Coca-Cola and Swiss multinational firm Nestlé as other companies to be boycotted by Muslims.
According to the campaign, the brands will be boycotted because they allegedly “lend their support to Zionist Israel”.
A pro-Palestine rally in Dataran Merdeka the week before also saw calls to boycott all products linked to Israel.
A list of products and companies, including McDonald’s, purportedly with ties to Israel’s Zionist regime has been circulating in the social media, although many have ended up there based on now-debunked hoaxes and obsolete links.
The popular fast food joint has since pleaded against the protest, saying the real victims of a boycott of its products would be its mostly Malay-Muslim employees.
