The news gets worse for BDS Malaysia and the BDS Movement in general, following news McDonalds Malaysia is suing them for defamation.
Sentiments against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Malaysia have plummeted after Gerbang Alaf Restaurants, the local licensee of McDonald’s in Malaysia, sued a movement promoting boycotts against Israel for false and defamatory statements for allegedly inciting the public to boycott McDonald’s Malaysia. It claimed that these statements hurt its business and are currently seeking damages amounting to US$1.31 million.
According to media intelligence firm Truescope, net sentiments around BDS and McDonald’s Malaysia before the announcement of legal action was positive +6.2% and +30% respectively.
However, after the announcement, sentiments towards BDS and McDonald’s Malaysia fell to -91.6% and -58.4% respectively, with BDS recording significantly more negative sentiment than McDonalds.
According to Kelvin Koh, managing director at Truescope Singapore, the dominant sentiment among netizens criticises BDS Malaysia, with concerns that boycotting a major entity such as McDonald’s could negatively affect the Malaysian economy.
Additionally, netizens argue that the boycott lacks foundation, as McDonald’s in Malaysia and other Asian countries is operated by a Saudi Arabian entity, not an Israeli one, according to Koh.
I guess the BDS umbrella movement didn’t get the memo; they are doubling down:
All the BDS Movement stands for is negativity and destruction. Hopefully it will continue its self-destructive behavior and cause even more negative sentiment against itself.
