KUALA LUMPUR – McDonald’s Malaysia is offering back-to-back discounts for its fried chicken amid boycott calls.
The fast-food chain shared on its social media channels that its five-piece fried chicken is going for RM25 – an offer available to drive-through customers. Previously, five pieces of chicken would cost RM32.
It also has discounts on other fried chicken products, such as its two-piece McValue meal, which is now priced at RM13.95, compared to RM17 previously.
Meanwhile, its nasi lemak with one piece of chicken and ice lemon tea is selling for RM10.95 instead of RM14.95.
The discounts for the McValue and nasi lemak meals were announced on Friday (November 10) with the caption: “Enjoy special promos on all-time favourite Ayam Goreng McD. Only at Mekdi.”
The franchise has also limited who can comment on its Facebook page.
Since last month, calls to boycott McDonald’s have grown louder as netizens shared videos of empty outlets that were once known to be crowded hotspots.
While the brand is no stranger to calls for boycotts, McDonald’s was heavily criticised after its franchise in Israel gave free meals to the military, among others.
“A unilateral decision made by an individual franchisee should not be considered a global action, company policy, or an official political stance by McDonald’s globally.
“The action of McDonald’s operator in Israel serves as an example of such individual actions; they were not global decisions and were not approved by other local operators,” said McDonald’s Malaysia (Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd) in a statement in October.
McDonald’s Malaysia has reiterated over the years that it is a local operating company, and since its acquisition by Lionhorn Pte Ltd under the Reza Group companies from Saudi Arabia in 2017, it has been a 100% Muslim-owned entity.
McDonald’s Kuwait also pledged more than US$160,000 to relief efforts in Gaza and that it “stands with Palestine”, while McDonald’s Qatar pledged US$275,000 to humanitarian aid to Palestine.
The chain is also not the only brand dealing with boycotts, as Palestine supporters have extended the call to include Starbucks, Disney, and Burger King.
This comes amid escalating violence in the Gaza Strip after Hamas on October 7 launched a surprise attack, involving dozens of fighters, with the objective of ending Israeli violations.
Gaza has been under intense bombardment by Israel, with the latest being attacks on hospitals in the Strip. So far, at least 11,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, while Israel revised its death toll from 1,600 to 1,400 recently. – November 12, 2023