We wish to state very clearly that McDonald's® Malaysia does not support nor condone the current conflict in the Middle East. Like all Malaysians, our utmost sympathies go out to the innocent victims in Gaza.While we understand and respect that the act of boycotting is an individual decision, nevertheless we are disappointed that McDonald's® Malaysia has been unfairly targeted. We urge Malaysians to remain calm and to refrain from carrying out any acts that may harm any parties.

We wish to reiterate our stand that McDonald's® Malaysia does not channel any sales, profits or franchise fees from our restaurants to support any political causes or conflicts in any part of the world. We have been consistent and transparent in communicating our position, but unfortunately the information that we share have been misinterpreted by certain parties.

As a consequence, our employees who are practically all Malaysians have had to endure harassments, threats, and verbal abuse. Some of our restaurants have also been subjected to acts of vandalism to the extent that we had no choice but to shut down our operations for the day. The reality is that our employees and franchisees have done nothing wrong, and it is grossly unfair that they should be targeted in such a way.
Let us all remind ourselves that we are Malaysians and we share a common bond. We can agree to disagree respectfully. But most important of all, let us all continue to pray for the end of the conflict and continued peace in Gaza.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (August 8, 2014)