In Act of Boycott, Malaysia Makes Its Own ‘McDonald’s’
The Israel-Hamas war sparked a new kind of hyper-local consumer loyalty in the Muslim world that’s showing no signs of reversing, fragile ceasefire and all.
A Zus Coffee shop in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
Photographer: Samsul Said/Bloomberg
It was a Saturday afternoon in summer 2024, and Lailatul Sarahjana Mohd Ismail’s children were asking—again—to go to McDonald’s. But Lailatul, like scores of other Muslims in Malaysia, was boycotting the fast-food chain and other American brands over US support for Israel. That moral choice, in solidarity with the people of Gaza, didn’t override her kids’ craving for fried chicken, one of the chain’s most popular offerings in the country. As the chorus for crispy drumsticks grew louder, Lailatul temporarily quelled the dissent by frying her own at home. And then she went a step further.
Convinced that there were probably thousands, if not millions, of other Malaysians craving the same thing but steering clear of international brands perceived to have a link to Israel or its close ally, the US, she launched her own small-scale competitor to the mega chain. Just over one year in, Ahmad’s Fried Chicken—the brand that Lailatul and her husband, Mohd Taufik Khairuddin, originally started out of a food truck—has grown to 35 outlets. By the end of 2026, that number will soar to about 110.