Smiling and laughing with others helps create trust, comfort, and a sense of belonging. Shared laughter reduces stress, lifts our mood, and strengthens emotional bonds, making relationships feel warmer and more meaningful."
I had the same question wandering in my mind for a while.
Scenario: “ I expected that some xyz people will smile back. They may say ‘hi’ if I greet them. “ This was my expectation about them.
However, in reality they sometimes ignored me. Sometimes, I ignored them during my own low days. Sometimes, they saw me but did not respond anything. Sometimes, I did the same. But, then I decided not to make a big deal of this. Because, we all are going through some or the other things, aren’t we? Maybe, they are or maybe they do acknowledge us or there can be any reason really (Only they can answer this. But how many people are you going to go and ask?)
So, I smiled whenever I saw them pass by. I said hi when I was in a great mood. It has happened that I did smile at them but they never smiled back. Instead of making an issue of this, I shrugged it off and walked pass them. You know why? - Because I did my bit and smiled.
Asmile, a joke or a listening ear with another these days goesalong way🙂
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MALAYSIAN foodies have apparently rejected the notion that the recent prospect of Johor Corp Bhd (JCorp) and private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners wanting to exit their KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food businesses is squarely attributable to anti-Zionist boycott campaign following the Iran-Israel conflict since mid-2024.
On the contrary, inconsistent product quality and pricing amid current lean times have significantly contributed to poor sales and corporate losses.
This follows a post by Facebooker Faridzul Asyraf Mat Arifin who “congratulated” the rightist fraternity for their incessant boycott till KFC has to be disposed of by its owner, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd.
“How much are they looking to sell for? It was reported at RM4 bil. But bear in mind that these folks originally acquired QSR Brands (the operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia) for RM 5.2 bil,” recounted the tech entrepreneur.
“Even though people complain about poor service at KFC, small chicken portions and so on, the primary reason for the sharp drop in their sales is the boycott movement.”
The poster went on to justify his claim with QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd’s revenue vs earnings from 2022 to 2025.
2022: RM4.81 bIl with a net profit of RM 49.58 mil
2023: RM4.87 bil with a net loss of RM66.2 mil
2024: RM3.23 bil with a net loss of RM332.67 mil
In 2025, once calmness was restored, there was some recovery though the losses over the previous two years had been severe with them recording (a revenue of) RM3.85 bil with a small profit.
The electrical engineer by qualification further expressed his disappointment that despite “the company is owned by Bumiputera, it’s the very same group of people who’s the most aggressive in calling for a boycott against it”.
“When I posted my support of KFC and McDonald’s previously, people immediately jumped in with comments accusing me of being ‘pro-Israel’ or claiming that the businesses were ‘funding bullets’ – when in reality, they were mostly just destroying the businesses of our own people.”
This was when rebuttals started to pour in with one commenter viewing that “if it were purely a matter of boycott, McDonald’s would have been harder hit”.
“Yet McDonald’s is holding steady; they’re even running promotions and continuing to roll out new products,” observed one Arif Hairuddin.
The truth is such that the quality at KFC itself has just gotten worse. Sometimes the coleslaw tastes like nothing but water. The mashed potatoes sometimes taste like nothing but flour. And don’t even get me started on the chicken.
It’s true that the boycott exercise is driven primarily by Muslims. However, many Muslims have become more informed and are now aware of who actually owns brands like KFC and McDonald’s.
But if a brand fails to thrive on its own merits – especially when its quality is steadily deteriorating – then you are going to lose this war.”
A number of KFC patrons chipped in with claims that “the chicken portion is small while the waiting time is long” or that “product quality varies from one outlet to another coupled with poor marketing strategy”.
On the same note, one commenter told the poster to “make your own comparison by buying KFC, Texas Chicken, Marrybrown or Ahmad’s HotChicken”.
As one commenter argued, while many home-grown fast-food players seized the moment to improvise by rolling out promotional campaigns, when boycott was at its peak, KFC was “sitting on its laurels by merely attributing sales drop to the boycott phenomenon”.
Above all else, in times of belt tightening, “people can choose whether they want something cheap or expensive”.
“People have choices; it’s not just KFC that sells chicken,” one commenter aptly pointed out.
“Plenty of others sell the same thing by the roadside – Ayam Alang, Ayam Muiz, night market fried chicken and many more. Enough with the constant talk about boycotts”
Editor’s Note: Recall that QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd alongside KFC Holdings (M) Bhd were delisted from the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Feb 7, 2013 following a RM5.12 bil privatization buyout by Johor Corp Bhd (JCorp), the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and CVC Capital Partners through Massive Equity Sdn Bhd.
JCorp holds a 55.63% stake in Massive Equity while Melati Asia Holdings Ltd holds 44.19% with the rest held by several individuals. Melati Asia is jointly owned by the EPF (51%) and CVC (49%).
Since then, the largest Malaysian fast food chain operator has repeatedly considered and planned an initial public offering (IPO) on Bursa Malaysia though it has postponed or shelved the plans multiple times
The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Southeast Asia first targeted a major listing aiming to raise around RM2 bil with a valuation of roughly RM6 bil.
However, QSR Brands put the IPO on hold in April 2019 due to choppy local market conditions and economic uncertainties.
Again, the listing idea was revived in August 2021 only for a domestic listing targeting up to US$500 mil (approx RM2.2 bil) to be indefinitely shelved as its businesses have been affected by anti-Zionist boycott campaign following the Iran-Israel conflict since mid-2024.
As it is, QSR Brands remains a private company jointly owned by JCorp, EPF and CVC till reports surfaced in November 2026 that JCorp and CVC (a private-equity firm) are exploring potential options to sell the KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food operations with an asking price of around RM4 bil
“They have been looking for buyers. They’re targeting foreign ones, in particular from the Middle East,” a source familiar with the matter tells The Edge on Monday (Nov 2), adding that foreign investment bank Citi is running the process. Citi declined comment.
Tawfik Yaakub berkata PN ada calon berpengalaman tetapi kepimpinan mereka gagal diterjemahkan kepada imej nasional merentasi sempadan ideologi, kaum dan generasi.
Penganalisis berkata kelebihan utama Anwar Ibrahim terletak pada pengalamannya yang panjang dalam aktiviti kemasyarakatan dan NGO sejak usia muda sebelum menyertai politik. (Gambar Facebook)
PETALING JAYA: Cabaran Perikatan Nasional (PN) menampilkan figura bagi menandingi karisma Anwar Ibrahim sebagai perdana menteri adalah berpunca daripada kegagalan gabungan itu membina imej kepimpinan merentasi pelbagai kaum, ideologi dan generasi, kata penganalisis.
Tawfik Yaakub dari Universiti Malaya berkata, PN sebenarnya mempunyai beberapa pemimpin berpengalaman seperti Naib Presiden PAS, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar dan Ketua Pembangkang Hamzah Zainudin untuk diketengahkan sebagai calon perdana menteri.
“Saya melihat Samsuri dan Hamzah mempunyai kekuatan kepimpinan yang berbeza. Samsuri membawa imej teknokrat, profesional dan pengalaman mentadbir Terengganu manakala Hamzah mempunyai pengalaman dalam pentadbiran kerajaan persekutuan serta politik nasional.
“Namun, cabaran utama mereka terletak pada sejauh mana kempimpinan itu dapat diterjemahkan kepada imej nasional yang merentasi sempadan ideologi, kaum, generasi dan wilayah,” katanya kepada FMT.
Tawfik Yaakub.
Beliau berkata, Anwar pula mempunyai sejarah politik nasional yang panjang, pengalaman diplomasi antarabangsa dan keterlihatan yang tinggi mendahului tokoh politik lain sebagai perdana menteri.
Katanya, ciri-ciri kepimpinan yang ada pada Anwar itu mewujudkan cabaran berbeza kepada mana-mana tokoh pembangkang untuk membina profil kepimpinan nasional sekali gus diangkat sebagai calon perdana menteri.
“Bagi saya isu sebenar bukan sekadar siapa yang mempunyai karisma tetapi bagaimana seseorang tokoh memperlihatkan kebolehan memimpin negara majmuk, mengemukakan penyelesaian ekonomi yang meyakinkan dan berkomunikasi secara berkesan dengan generasi muda,” katanya.
Tawfik juga berkata, PN juga perlu mencapai kesepakatan mengenai identiti kepimpinan yang mahu diketengahkan sama ada berteraskan pengalaman pentadbiran, pendekatan teknokratik atau gabungan kedua-duanya.
“Akhirnya saya fikir untuk menjadi calon perdana menteri perlu dinilai bukan berdasarkan populariti peribadi semata-mata tetapi juga keupayaan membentuk pasukan pentadbiran, menawarkan dasar yang jelas dan memperoleh kepercayaan masyarakat merentasi kelompok politik,” katanya.
Sementara itu, Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid dari Universiti Sains Malaysia berpendapat kelebihan utama Anwar terletak pada pengalamannya yang panjang dalam aktiviti kemasyarakatan dan badan bukan kerajaan (NGO) sejak usia muda sebelum menyertai politik.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid.
Menurutnya, rekod perkhidmatan serta fasa jatuh bangun politik yang dilalui Anwar membentuk kebolehan perhubungan awam yang sukar ditandingi oleh mana-mana tokoh politik hari ini.
“Samsuri dan Hamzah masing-masing sibuk membina kerjaya awal sebagai saintis dan usahawan.
“Sebaliknya, Anwar sudah mula merakyatkan diri sejak muda dan berani meneroka persahabatan dengan kelompok bukan Melayu.
“Kebolehan berinteraksi dari peringkat akar umbi di kampung hingga ke pentas antarabangsa tanpa rasa rendah diri menjadikan Anwar calon yang amat sukar dicabar dari segi karisma dan diplomasi,” katanya.
Beliau menambah, untuk PN menampilkan seorang lagi calon perdana menteri dengan rekod pengalaman kemasyarakatan seumpama itu tanpa naungan kerajaan memerintah akan mengambil masa yang amat lama.
Semalam, Ketua Penerangan PAS, Fadhli Shaari mengakui PN berdepan cabaran mengetengahkan calon perdana menteri yang mampu menandingi pengaruh Anwar pada PRU16.
Ahli Parlimen Pasir Mas itu berkata, Anwar mempunyai kelebihan dari segi penampilan dan pendekatannya terhadap anak muda termasuk ketika menghadiri acara awam.
Beliau mengambil contoh kehadiran Anwar dalam acara MotoGP di Sepang, minggu lalu, apabila perdana menteri itu dilihat duduk di atas rumput bersama golongan muda, yang disifatkannya sebagai pendekatan berkesan dari segi imej dan persepsi awam. - FMT
Shoppers purchasing essential items ahead of Deepavali celebrations this Sunday at the Deepavali bazaar on Jalan Dato Lee Fong Yee. BERNAMA PIC
KUALA LUMPUR: Hindus across the country will celebrate Deepavali on Nov 8 with traditional prayers, religious rituals and family gatherings marking the Festival of Lights.
Deepavali, also known as Diwali, is one of the most significant celebrations in the Hindu calendar, symbolising the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.
The lighting of oil lamps, or agal vilakku, is among the festival's key traditions, representing the removal of darkness and the welcoming of hope, positivity and prosperity.
Malaysia Hindhudharma Maamandram President Rishi Kumar Vadivelu said Deepavali also serves as a reminder for devotees to overcome negative traits such as arrogance, jealousy and ego.
He said the word Deepavali originated from the Tamil words Deepam, meaning oil lamp, and Avali, meaning a row or arrangement of lamps.
Preparations traditionally begin on the eve of Deepavali on Nov 7 when families perform prayers to honour their clan deity (Kula Deivam) and seek blessings.
"On Deepavali morning, families observe the traditional Ganga Snanam ritual, which involves applying sesame oil to the head before bathing, a practice believed to bring spiritual blessings," he told Bernama.
After the ritual, family members wear new clothes, seek blessings from parents and elders, offer prayers and visit temples before returning home to enjoy traditional meals and sweets with family and friends.
Homes are also decorated with oil lamps and colourful kolam designs, while families prepare various festive delicacies to share with visitors.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Hindu Sangam National President Thanga Ganesan said Deepavali was an important occasion to strengthen family ties and preserve cultural and religious traditions for future generations.
He encouraged Malaysians to share the joy of the celebration with friends from other communities through open house invitations and gatherings.
"In our multiracial Malaysia, let us share the joy of Deepavali with our Malay, Chinese and other friends from diverse communities. Through mutual respect, understanding and unity, we can further strengthen the harmony that makes our nation unique," he said.
Meanwhile, MIC vice-president and former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk T. Murugiah in his Deepavali greetings called on the Indian community to use the festival as an opportunity to strengthen family relationships, promote unity and extend assistance to the less fortunate.
He also urged the government to give greater attention to the welfare, education, employment opportunities and economic development of the Indian community, particularly families in the B40 income group.
Murugiah said the spirit of Deepavali should go beyond festive celebrations and inspire Malaysians to practise kindness, compassion and mutual respect while strengthening harmony in the country's multiracial society. - NST
