McDonald's policy not welcome here: Teo
Published on: Saturday, January 07, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Datuk Teo Chee Kang (pic) urged McDonald's outlets in Sabah to emulate their Sarawak counterparts by doing away with its latest policy of allowing only halal-certified cakes to be brought into its premises. "The State government can also emulate the Sarawak State Government by instructing McDonald's outlets in Sabah to do away with the policy," Teo said, adding that such a ban was incompatible with the multiracial and multi-religious community in Sabah.Besides, he noted that consumers in the peninsula, including Muslims, have started boycotting McDonald's outlets because of the latest policy, which shows that the majority of consumers do not welcome it.ADVERTISEMENT "Other businesses should take this as a lesson and refrain from introducing policies that will be subject to public criticism," Teo said.Teo, who is also Special Tasks Minister, said Sabahans of different racial and religious backgrounds have always been living harmoniously. "Even Muslims in Sabah have no qualms about eating their halal food in Chinese restaurants."As such, the McDonald's ban on non-halal cakes into its premises is an unnecessary move," he said, in a statement, Friday.Teo said Sabahans very much respected the religious beliefs and taboos of others, and would not deliberately overstep religious boundaries.ADVERTISEMENT "All policies should reflect the 1Malaysia spirit and policies such as the non-halal cake ban would polarise the society and undermine unity among the people. "Moreover, there has not been any problems before the ban came into effect," Teo said.In KUCHING, McDonalds was told that its policy is not welcomed in Sarawak.
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Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, Michael Tiang, called on the management of the fast food chain not to extend the policy to Sarawak, saying it was "totally incompatible" with the state's multi-cultural and multi-religious society."One of Sarawak's unique features is that there is always harmony and tolerance among the different ethnic groups. Such solidarity is the pride of Sarawakians."We cannot condone any religious or racial extremism which will destroy the solidarity among Sarawakians," he said.Tiang said that to preserve the state's harmony, the Sarawak government had denied entry to extremists, religious bigots and racists.Tiang said McDonald's outlets in Miri took down the notices on the halal-certified cakes after receiving a directive from the head office.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"As far as I know, Miri's McDonald's outlets were the only ones in Sarawak to display the notices at their premises."Such prompt action is a wise move and a positive response to the strong objections from Sarawakians towards its policy," he said. McDonald's has three outlets in Miri and 13 in total in Sarawak.