Pro-Palestinian UK politician praises Malaysians for boycott over conflict

George Galloway says fewer consumers in Malaysia are patronising certain chains compared with other countries.

Former former Labour MP George Galloway said the activism here in support of Palestinians is stronger than in many Muslim countries. (EPA Images pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 Controversial pro-Palestinian UK politician George Galloway tonight praised Malaysians for their boycott of companies allegedly affiliated with Israel, claiming the activism here is stronger than in many Muslim countries.

The former Labour MP claimed that based on his observation, popular chains like Starbucks and McDonald’s, were “emptier” compared to those in Arab countries.

“Most countries in this world are not like Malaysia, dedicated to this Palestinian question,” Galloway said at an event here at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) Malaysia.

“I don’t like to tell you this, but there are far more people sitting in Starbucks and McDonald’s in other Muslim countries than there are in Western countries.”

In January last year, it was reported that Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood) faced significant challenges as the boycott of Starbucks Malaysia, sparked by the Israel-Palestine conflict, heavily impacted its operations, given that the brand used to contribute 90% of the group’s revenue.

Berjaya Group founder Vincent Tan however said that Starbucks Malaysia was seeing an improvement in sales with the boycott of its outlets tapering off, with Tan attributing it to more “realistic” consumers.

In 2024, McDonald’s Malaysia claimed it suffered losses of RM6 million, including RM1.5 million to lay off employees.

Galloway went on to defend the “boycott, divest and sanctions” (BDS) movement, labelling it a “moral and religious” course of action taken by pro-Palestinian supporters.

“I can’t say that everything we boycott will bring them (the companies linked to Israel and the US, its main supporter) to their knees, but it’s all we can do.

“We can’t go there (Palestine) to fight, so we must give them (Palestinians) what we can.”

Malaysia has been a vocal supporter of Palestine.

In October of last year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – whose administration has held rallies in solidarity with Palestine – said he had a heart-to-heart talk with Donald Trump on the conflict in Gaza when the US president attended the Asean summit. - FMT