Another video uploaded as KFC punch-up riles Malaysians

Instead of abating, a video of a customer being punched by staff of a KFC outlet in I-City, Selangor, has attracted even greater public outcry. Other customers who were present and filmed the punch-up are starting to send in their footage to Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.

"This is the second video taken by a customer who was at the I-City KFC fight fiasco," Lip Eng said on his Twitter.

Churlish and unprofessional

The second video confirms the view of many that the KFC staff had behaved churlishly towards Ng Chee Fei, who had gone to the restaurant with his wife on February 6.

According to Ng, he and his wife were made to wait at the KFC outlet for an hour before being rudely told "‘ayam sudah habis, apa you mahu lagi?

Angered by the sloppy service, he ticked off the staff and a shouting match ensued. According to his wife, some of the staff even brought out a steel bar to threaten them.

Although she managed to pull her husband away, he refused to be brushed off and re-entered the outlet, demanding their names so that he lodge a formal complaint. It was then that one of the staff punched him in the face, while the outlet manager stood by and chatted the others.

'Racialisng' what was basically terrible customer service

Some of those present filmed the incident, and one of them uploaded the video on You Tube, where it became viral. Anxious to downplay the violence displayed by the staff, some cyber-troopers who seem to be Umno supporters began tagging the incident as an outbreak of Malay vs Chinese animosity. Ng was also accused of being an 'arrogant Chinese'.

This led Ng to seek legal advice and lodge a police report over the incident. At the police station, Ng was advised not to approach the Pakatan Rakyat with his story 'in the spirit of 1Malaysia'.

However, given the deafening silence from KFC, which has yet to offer an apology or words of comfort, Ng decided to approach Lip Eng for justice. KFC is an Umno-linked frim.

"I won’t go back to KFC, not for a long time, I’m mentally distressed,” Ng told a press conference on Thursday.

“This is no reason for physical attack. I did not hit back because violence is not the answer. Rumours that I was drunk when the incident occurred are also not true."

Spare the rod and spoil the child

All eyes are on whether KFC will refuse to call for an inquiry into the conduct of its staff. All eyes are also on the police to see if they will take any action at all.

There is also some expectation that ultra-Malay rights group Perkasa and its founder Ibrahim Ali may be roped in to speak on behalf of the KFC staff.

Malaysia Chronicle