Boycotts A Mcirony Burger You Won T Need Waze To Find

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In Malaysia, the move to boycott US-based companies – perceived as aiding the Israeli military in its campaign against the Palestinian people – has centred on two of the most well-known American brands: McDonald’s and Starbucks.
If recent media reports on the problems facing the two companies are to be believed, these boycotts appear to be working, financially at least. Starbucks’ revenues have plummeted, while McDonald’s is suing the boycott movement for loss of income.
Yet, why have boycotters targeted these two companies specifically?
Well, reportedly staff of a McDonald’s Israel restaurant gave meals to Israel Defence Force (IDF) troops during the operation in Gaza, while it seems Starbucks became embroiled in a dispute after trying to distance itself from a pro-Palestinian post by a US workers’ union.
In response, Muslims here have been giving these outlets the cold shoulder. Yet, there are wider implications to consider.
While corporate boycotts have historically proven to be effective, people should tread carefully when assigning blame. It is easy and more justifiable when the company’s actions are the sole focus of the dispute, but in a largescale event, say a war, it is not so cut and dry.
The lines of culpability and involvement become blurred – a fact that seems to escape these keyboard warriors, so keen to chuck stones from a distance, cherry-picking which companies should incur their wrath.
Take, for example, November 2023: Kampar MP Chong Zhemin accused the Kelantan government of double standards over its support of the boycott while excos clung to their Mercedes Benz cars. The German manufacturer has supplied, and continues to supply, the IDF with hundreds of patrol vehicles.
Yet, no boycotters seem willing to take on the PAS top brass about this. At all.
Similarly, Boeing and Airbus supply the Israeli military with fighter jets and helicopters. Every day, the news is replete with stories of Israeli jets pounding Gaza and airstrikes killing hundreds of innocents.
Yet there have been no clarion calls to shun the airlines which operate both types of aircraft. More to the point, how many boycotters have flown Boeing or Airbus in the past few months?
Going one step further, do we ask the Malaysian Armed Forces to mothball their equipment because they are supplied by the same companies that supply Israel?
If this is a bit abstract or beyond the boycotters’ control, then let’s try something closer to home or, more precisely, your pocket.
One of the cornerstones of modern mobile phone technology is GPS, which – and this fact will stun you rigid – was not developed so boycotters could Waze their way to Starbucks or McDonald’s and try to shame customers on X or Instagram.
The global positioning system, to use its full title, was developed by the US government in 1973 and fully came online in 1993 for its sole customer at the time: the US military.
The US military still runs GPS today, while its ally Israel uses the technology to blow Palestinians up. Multiple times a day, every day since October.
Meanwhile Waze, that app upon which so many Malaysians depend on, was developed by Israelis Uri Levine, Ehud Shabtai and Amir Shinar. Instant messaging (IM) was pioneered by Israeli company ICQ in 1996.
Again, no one has come even close to picking up this chalice, no Waze or IM app boycotts, no mobile phones smashed in disgust.
Moreover, one of the key aspects of any boycott to consider is the impact at the other end. In this case, the only ties McDonald’s Malaysia shares with its namesake in Israel is the brand. The franchise owner is actually the Saudi-owned Lionhorn Pte Ltd.
No Israeli involvement whatsoever.
Therefore, among the innocent casualties in this consumer conflict are 15,000 ordinary Malaysians of all ethnicities – most of whom are Muslim – relying on a McDonald’s paycheque during difficult times to feed their families, to put themselves through college or just the satisfaction of holding down a regular job.
These employees do not make the decisions and have no say in corporate direction. They were employed before the carnage in Gaza and had absolutely nothing to do with the events that have unfolded since.
In a nutshell, Muslims are being slaughtered by Israel in Palestine, so the response of Muslims here is to punish fellow Muslims, in the process utilising Israeli-developed technology and the same technology Israel uses to kill Muslims.
Now that’s a meaty McIrony burger you won’t need GPS to find. -FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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