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A pro-Palestinian group leading boycotts against companies allegedly supporting Israel's bombing of Gaza is being sued by McDonald's Malaysia for defamation and loss of earnings, according to reports.
Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd (GAR), the licensee of McDonald's in Malaysia, is suing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) Malaysia over a series of social media posts.
GAR claims in a subpoena seen by Portal that the posts harmed its business by leading to boycotts that, among other things, resulted in lost profits and job losses due to closures and reduced operating hours of its stores. Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country in Southeast Asia.
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A lady wearing a face mask walks past the McDonald's restaurant. McDonald's Malaysia has sued a pro-Palestinian group for defamation and loss of earnings after the group led boycotts against McDonald's over the Gaza war. (Faris Hadziq/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The posts also allegedly linked the fast food franchise, among other companies, to the war in Gaza, which the company described as a “genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.”
The posts also included the McDonald's logo, the lawsuit says. McDonald's Malaysia is seeking 6 million ringgit ($1.31 million) in damages.
Since Israel responded to the deadly Hamas attacks on October 7, McDonald's and other US-affiliated fast food chains and brands have been targeted by pro-Palestinian groups. According to Portal, the BDS movement aims to end international support for Israel's “oppression of Palestinians” and pressure Israel to comply with international law.
In the subpoena, GAR said: “There is no evidence that we (the plaintiff) committed genocide against the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, nor any evidence that we contributed to the Israeli army.”
A McDonald's in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. McDonald's Malaysia has sued a pro-Palestinian group for defamation and loss of earnings after the group led boycotts against McDonald's over the Gaza war. (Mohd Samsul Mohd Said/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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“Instead, our brand logo was used (and suspected) in connection with the Gaza genocide, which is not true.”
Additionally, McDonald's Malaysia said in a statement on Friday via The Star that it neither supports nor condones the current conflict in Gaza.
“Like all Malaysians, our deepest sympathy goes out to the innocent victims in Gaza,” the statement said. “We donated 1 million ringgit ($218,000) to the government-launched Palestinian Humanitarian Fund and will continue to pray for the end of the conflict and continued peace in Gaza.”
“The posters are not only defamatory and defamatory, but they were also created with the malicious intent to harm us (the plaintiff) as they contain the implication that we are complicit in the genocide of the Palestinians by participating in this war crime “We have cooperated with Israel and benefited from it,” said the letter, quoted by Scoop, a Malaysia-based news site.
Different versions of the McDonald's Big Mac. McDonald's Malaysia is seeking $1.31 million in damages, saying it led a boycott against its restaurants. (McDonald's / Fox News)
BDS confirmed on X that it had received the subpoena and wcould Let the matter go to court.
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“We BDS Malaysia have received a subpoena from McDonald’s Malaysia accusing us of defaming the company,” the statement said. “We categorically deny this. We have therefore decided to leave the matter to the court.”
According to its website, McDonald's has more than 320 locations in Malaysia and serves over 13.5 million customers monthly. McDonald's employs more than 15,000 people at its restaurants across the country.
Portal contributed to this report.