McDonald's Malaysia refutes online claims of Israeli support
KUALA LUMPUR The Malaysian franchise of McDonald's said it was "disappointed" with calls on social media to boycott the fast food restaurant chain in apparent retaliation to the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Social media users in the Muslim-majority country called on boycotting various US companies following US President Donald Trump's decision to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, a city important to both Israelis and Muslims.
One user of Twitter's microblogging platform, TheUsopIbrahim, stated without citing sources that US-headquartered McDonald's "channelled funds to Israel".
The post has been retweeted 320 times and "liked" 138 times.
TheUsopIbrahim did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
CONFLICTS
McDonald's Malaysia, in a statement on Facebook, said the chain does not support or engage in any political or religious conflicts.
"The claim that McDonald's channels funds to Israel is a false accusation, a lie, fake and slanderous.
"The charges made by an irresponsible party in (Facebook's) WhatsApp messages are also unsubstantiated," said Mr Azmir Jaafar, managing director and operating partner of franchisee Gerbang Alaf Restaurants.
Mr Azmir also said Gerbang's largest shareholder is Muslim. - REUTERS
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