Coming back to my point. One of the ways Malaysians have come out to protest against this uncivilised problem solving method is to call for a boycott on all Israeli and American products. Take note of the word all as that will be one of my key points of argument. One notable university in central West Malaysia through a well-known club also did their part in organising a boycott. Flyers were passed around and a campaign to boycott Israeli products and products of its allies was held during the week. However, though I complement them on their efforts, what struck me most was the companies and products that they were asking us to boycott:
If you look carefully at the cut-out of the flyer above, you'd notice some familiar products. Apart from the well-known products like McD, KFC, Coke and Pepsi, do you notice other popular companies like Intel, IBM, 20th Century Fox, CNN and Nestle? Now, I'm not saying that doing a boycott is wrong. Boycotting is a legitimate way of protest. But what I'm saying is that we should be mindfull of the products or companies that we choose to boycott. What do I mean?
Take Intel as an example. This club is calling for a boycott of Intel. Do you think thats a wise idea? For one, Intel is a major investor in Malaysia. Two, the majority of laptops and computers use the Intel microchip. Three, a number of students studying in that university are under Intel scholarships. Heck, I know of one who went to sign the scholarship contract last Friday. So by calling for a boycott, they are telling us not to purchase or use anything affiliated with Intel. That would mean not using our laptops/computers (we have to change to AMD) and students giving up scholarships. Do you think Intel will say "Oh no, Malaysians are boycotting us. We have do something to avoid the boycotting, if not we'll lose business and have to close down"? In my view, all Intel will say is "Boycott us? Its up to them. Worse come to worst, we'll just bungkus our company here, take out all our investments from Malaysia, and dump it in another country. Whats the big deal?" And who are the ones that will be affected? If Intel closes down, it will be the employees that will suffer, our own people will lose their jobs.
Remember I said "all American products"? Well, one such product we are called to boycott are the golden arches, McD. Amazingly, I went to one a few days ago, and guess what, they still had quite a number of customers. Think about it. If everyone in Malaysia were to boycott McD, do you think McD will suffer big time? The true people who will suffer are those whose lifes depend on having a job at McD. Take away McD, you take away their income, food and means to support their family.
Refering to the cut-out above, if we were to really follow the boycott, we wont be using our laptops, no Levi's jeans, no Kotex and no Maggi mee. There'll also be no movies because among the boycott products are 20th Century Fox and Disney. And we can't drink Milo since we're suppose to boycott Nestle. Oh yes, those of you who use Nokia handphones, find the nearest trash can and put it in there. And one more, if you're an Arsenal supporter, better look for another club to support my friend. Because you're to boycott Arsenal since they are promoting Israel as their number one tourist destination.
One of my friends even made a joke about this boycott. As above, one of the products that they are asking to boycott is Kotex. Well, then what are women going to use? He suggested that they use diapers. Then, they can use it as a 3 in 1, to urinated, pass-motion and monthly period. Just a joke ok. No hard feelings.
I'm not saying that by not adhearing to this boycott, I'm supporting Israel. I condemn what Israel is doing. But what I'm saying is that we should choose wisely what to boycott. Although we don't depend on products like Coke and Kit-Kat for our lives, a lot of companies that are associated with the US have big local investors and a large number of local employees. If I have to choose between boycotting to show my support for the Palestinians but cause local businesses to close down, or not boycott certain products and allow locals to sustain a living, I choose the latter.
My prayers and sympathy's are with all in the Middle-east, Israeli and Palestinian. I pray that this brutal, barbaric and uncivilised actions will stop and that they will experience peace once and for all. One way that we, here in Malaysia and other countries, can help is to pray, donate if we want to and be in solidarity with them regardless of race and religion. Boycott if we want to, protest if we want to, speak out if we want to but in everything we do, be sure that it does not jeopardise our own lives here.
Peace to all.
Sir Adrian, over and out.
