5 January 2024
McDonald’s Malaysia has sued a pro-Palestinian group for $1.3 million over its calls to boycott companies allegedly supporting Israel, multiple reports said.
In a statement issued Friday, the fast-food chain said the civil suit against BDS Malaysia was aimed at protecting “our rights and interests in accordance with the law”.
In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, BDS Malaysia said “we categorically deny this” alleged defamation.
BDS Malaysia’s chairman, Nazari Ismail, also reportedly said that the group had only supported the efforts of Malaysians looking to boycott the fast-food chain and that it did not hold any campaigns. He argued that the group simply supported the movement and that it did not oppose or start it.
BDS Malaysia is part of the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, which was launched by Palestinian civil society organisations in 2005. The campaign advocates political and economic action against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
Israel’s relentless military campaign since then has killed at least 22,438 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
