KUALA LUMPUR – The action of McDonald’s giving free meals to Israeli citizens is not a global action and does not reflect the values or practices of McDonald’s Malaysia.
“It is crucial to clarify that the actions being referred to are those of an independent market… furthermore, 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 today.
“As of 2023, we have contributed over RM12 million in zakat payment to 14 states in Malaysia, supporting underprivileged communities,” McDonald’s Malaysia said.
McDonald’s Malaysia has been a local operating company. 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.
The fast food franchise has come under fire after its franchise in Israel announced on Instagram that it was giving thousands of free meals to hospitals and troops in the Israel Defence Forces.
“We intend to donate thousands of meals every day to soldiers in the field and in drafting areas, and this is beyond a discount to soldiers coming to restaurants. We opened 5 restaurants that were open only for this purpose,” posted McDonald’s Israel.
This comes amid escalating violence in the Gaza Strip after Hamas recently launched a surprise attack, involving dozens of fighters, with the objective to end Israeli “violations”.
In response, the Israeli army initiated Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare that “we are at war”.
This morning, US media reported that aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its strike group have been deployed to join the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier in a show of support for Israel.
It was reported that Israel would launch a ground assault on the Gaza Strip and gave Palestinians 24 hours to evacuate. Israel’s military also vowed to expand its war on Gaza with “coordinated attacks from the air, sea and land”.
Gaza has already been under intense bombardment by Israel, with at least 2,300 Palestinians dead and 9,700 wounded. Israel also reported a death toll of 1,300, with more than 3,400 wounded since the Hamas attack. – October 15, 2023