YOURSAY | ‘When it comes to boycotts, it’s never aimed at the right target.’

New envoy says boycotts only hurt M'sians, not US or Israel

Doc: I don't think some people can comprehend what newly appointed US ambassador to Malaysia Edgard D Kagan is saying and the fact that what he is saying is true.

At the end of the day, the people who are going to suffer from these nonsensical boycotts are the locals themselves.

Most of the staff working in McDonald's and Starbucks are Malays. Hence, once these poor Malay staff start losing their jobs, who will be blamed? (Let me guess; the non-Malays, I assume).

Incidentally, after six months of boycott imposed on these American franchises, has Israel stopped their atrocities in Gaza? The boycott is not having its desired effect.

Mazhilamani: What is the percentage of Malaysians who are boycotting international food brands?

Those passionate, die-hard consumers of Starbucks and McDonald's offerings will never stop going there.

As for the group boycotting, half of them don't know what they are doing and the other half might not even have stepped into either one of the outlets.

More importantly, what kind of dent can boycotts cause, and how will they affect the US and Israel's economy?

What if the US decides to break economic ties with Malaysia? We will feel the immediate tsunami effect.

Please stop following the organisers of mass walks and protests blindly.

Man on the Silver Mountain: Boycotts are a lose-lose situation. The boycotted chains are part of the service industry.

If you boycott them, you are deprived of their services.

The same goes for the call to boycott the KK Mart chain. It is the workers who suffer the most.

When we do something, we must calculate the consequence whether it brings any desired effect or not. Otherwise, it is a wasted effort that backfires against our interests.

RedWolf4463: In Malaysia, those who boycott and those who call for the boycott of big franchises are like those who cut off their nose to spite their face.

They belong to a group of people who are blinded by their feeling of superiority and who are taught to hate anything that is not similar to them or anyone who does not subscribe to their ways.

In the end, they blame everyone else when they are suffering from the consequences of their actions or the actions of their leaders.

GoldenMoose1845: This is consumer activism. It is the absolute right of the consumer to decide.

As you know, consumer activism (or boycott as you will) in China has resulted in consumers switching from Starbucks to Luckin Coffee.

It has been great for the local brand. Similarly, we are switching to Zus coffee.

We may have some job losses, but believe me - it is a small price to pay to highlight the brutality of Israel’s war against the Palestinian people.

VioletBeetle0699: The boycott shouldn’t involve people who are just trying to make a living. It’s like Malaysians punishing Malaysians.

Who’s going to put food on the table?

Are you implying that they are supporting the Israel cause and less patriotic than those that boycott food and beverage companies?

Be mature a bit. You’re ruining the lives of those workers who get laid off just because of your ignorance and arrogance.

Dummies Dhimmi: It isn't about being right or wrong. It is about ignorance. The foolish being led by their noses by other foolish people.

What they did here was drop the stone on their feet. Then they will scream for more aid money without having a clue they sabotaged their economy.

When it comes to boycotts, it is never aimed at the right target.

Koel: What we are seeing is the legacy of a fractured Malaysian identity.

For 67 years, the politics of this country has nurtured a fragmented and fractured identity.

The idea of what's good for Malaysia has always been sacrificed for what's good for race and religion.

What we are now seeing is the fallout from these selfish policies.

Is it any wonder that we are coming to a point where the welfare of the country is secondary to the welfare of particular pockets or supremacist egos?

Look at the Petronas debacle. Look at KK Mart and the avowed determination of sick parties to destroy it.

Look at those adherents of hate speech that wish to legalise hate terms on the basis that these terms exist in religious texts, ie texts devised way before the idea of diversity and multiculturalism were refined.

Does it matter to these destructive forces that their actions harm ordinary Malaysians? Of course not.

Because the concept of Malaysia does not exist for them. A former prime minister even went so far as to say he was Malay first.

Malaysia appears to have become a diseased creature hellbent on cannibalising itself. Congratulations to all our politicians and elites who have brought us here.

This is your doing. Look upon your work and weep.

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