Recently, many Malaysians have expressed a boycott towards the Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart. This move came after discovering that FamilyMart’s parent company, Itochu Corporation, had a partnership with Israeli defence contractor company Elbit Systems, which indirectly placed them in a position of aiding in genocide.
However, not long after the boycott started in Malaysia, Itochu released a statement saying they would cease all partnerships with the defence contractor, meaning they no longer have ties to the company or the ongoing war. In addition to this official statement from Itochu, FamilyMart Malaysia has also released a statement to address the boycott and clarify its stance.
In the statement released yesterday (5th February) through FamilyMart Malaysia’s social media pages, the convenience store chain wrote that the company was aware of the calls for boycotts from netizens. However, the company reiterates that its parent company, Itochu, have ceased its partnership with the deference contractor company and no longer has ties to the company. FamilyMart Malaysia then ends the statement by affirming that they do not support violence or killing and adds that they will not contribute to, donate to or deal with Israel.
The statement received tons of positive responses, most of which were from FamilyMart customers. Many praised FamilyMart Malaysia for addressing the boycott and reaffirming their stance. However, some noted that the Itochu-Elbit partnership is still active until the end of February, so customers “should still boycott the company until the end of the month”. Others also ask FamilyMart to prove they no longer have ties with the defense contractor to support their statement.
We’re glad that FamilyMart Malaysia addressed the issue as quickly as they did. Maybe this can put customers’ worries to an end so they can continue supporting with peace of mind.
Source: Facebook
