McDonald's Malaysia sues pro-Palestinian group for Israel boycott: report

A pro-Palestinian group which has been leading boycotts against companies it says are supporting Israel in its bombardment of Gaza, is being sued by McDonald's Malaysia for defamation and loss of earnings, according to reports. 

Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd (GAR), which is the licensee of McDonald's in Malaysia, is suing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia movement for a series of social media postings. 

GAR, in a writ of summons viewed by Reuters, claims the posts hurt its business by spurring boycotts which led to a loss of profits and job cuts, among other damages, due to closures and shortened operating hours of its outlets. Malaysia is a majority Muslim country located in Southeast Asia. 

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The posts allegedly linked the fast-food franchise, among other companies, to the war in Gaza which it labeled as a "genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza."

The posts also contained the McDonald’s logo, the writ alleges. McDonald’s Malaysia is seeking damages amounting to 6 million ringgit ($1.31 million). 

McDonald’s along with other U.S.-linked fast-food chains and brands have been targeted by pro-Palestinian groups since Israel responded to the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The BDS movement aims to end international support for Israel's "oppression of Palestinians" and pressure Israel to comply with international law, according to Reuters.

In the writ of summons, GAR said "there is no proof that we (the plaintiff) has committed genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, nor any proof that we contributed to Israel’s army."

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"(But instead) our brand logo has been used (and deemed) to be related to the genocide in Gaza, which is not true.

Furthermore, McDonald’s Malaysia, in a statement Friday via The Star, said that it does not support or condone the current conflict in Gaza.

"Like all Malaysians, our utmost sympathies go out to the innocent victims in Gaza," the statement reads. "We have contributed 1 million ringgit ($218,000) to the Palestinian Humanitarian Fund launched by the government and will continue to pray for the end of the conflict and continued peace in Gaza."

"The posters are not only defamatory and slanderous, but it has also been done with malicious intent to cause harm against us (the plaintiff), as it carries innuendo that we are involved in the genocide against Palestinians by colluding with Israel in this war crime and profiting from it," according to the writ, cited by Scoop, a Malaysian based news site.  

BDS confirmed on X that it had received the summons and would let the matter go to court. 

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"We BDS Malaysia received a writ of summons from McDonald’s Malaysia, accusing us of defaming the company," the statement reads. "We categorically deny this. We have therefore decided to let the court decide on the matter."

McDonald’s has more than 320 locations in Malaysia, serving over 13.5 million customers per month, according to its website. McDonald’s employs more than 15,000 people in its restaurants across the country.

Reuters contributed to this report.