A good friend of mine posted an entry on boycott on her blog. I wrote a comment, but i thought it was too long and decided to transfer it here as an entry to my own blog :) Here goes nothing....
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The news on tragedy in Gaza is literally everywhere now. Malaysians as usual, being a generous society, donate a lot. However, some people argue that - should we really help those in Gaza when we still have needy people here in Malaysia?
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In general, I'd agree that Malaysians actually sympathize way too easily to others, especially when it involves other people's misery. Not that it's bad, but we may have to prioritize between helping others and helping our own people - Kera di hutan disusukan, anak sendiri kelaparan. To some extend, it's true.
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However, the idea that we are neglecting our own people may not be entirely true. Why? Well, most of us are taxpayers right? So we already did our part. It's the responsibility of the government to ensure that the money be channeled properly especially to the needy. What else could we do? Can we afford to help those who are in trouble every time we come across on one? I don't know about you guys, but I definitely can't do it. Frankly. So, pay your taxes, and your money will be used and distributed fairly amongst the needy.
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And of course, we cant really question whether the money really reach the intended person right? We can't really ask for a perfect system, but we should bear in mind is that the system is there and it's working fairly well most of the time. Of course there will be flaws, again, nothing is perfect. That's why we elect our YBs to do the job for us ie planning, analysis, making decisions. If they don't do their jobs, then let them answer to God.
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On boycott, I think it's an undisputed fact that the boycott will not affect the said companies severely. They might be experiencing some dip in revenue but I think it will not go to the extend of recording losses. Who are we kidding right? These are MNCs. They are big and strong. I think even if they shutdown their operation in Malaysia, it will not affect their revenue. We are kancils fighting against elephants.
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But we need to understand that the objective here is not about killing the elephants, or even wound them. We just want to disrupt the routine of their lives by sending them a message through boycotts. We want them to know that we do not condone the inhumane act that they did to our fellow Muslims in Gaza. Even though, the impact is small, but it's still an impact. And for a kancil to cause a negative impact on an elephant, I would consider that a victory.
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And I also concur that it's nearly impossible to boycott all America's or Israel's products. I myself should know better that sooner or later my son would ask for his favourite cheeseburger, but until that time comes, I will try not to visit McD. But that doesn't mean that we have to forget the idea entirely. We need to try the best that we can. The important thing here is, we need to take part in helping our brothers and sisters in Gaza. We never know that maybe one day we need them to do us a favour.
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Some people also said that if we boycott McD, KFC or Coke, they might have to terminate some of their employees due to the loss in revenue. Come onnnn...., are you kidding me? We need to remember that not only Muslims live in Malaysia. So since only the Muslims are pursuing this boycott idea, they (McD, KFC etc etc) still have the non-muslims to cater for. Even the Muslims, I think to get half of them to boycott would be difficult. So stop worrying, they will not go bankrupt, at least not to this boycott.
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Moreover, to me boycott is the most plausible thing to do. What are the options?
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1. Go to war with Israel
2. Donate money to the people of Palestine
3. Stop giving money to Palestine's enemies
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I don't think we can opt for option No. 1. I can only do No. 2 and No. 3. What about you guys? Tepuk dada tanya selera. And please remember, nobody is putting a gun to you head and force you to help. If you want to help, do it sincerely. Don't do it for the sake of wanting to have the papers print your picture holding a mock cheque. That would be disgusting, taking advantage of other people's suffering. And if you think this is a waste of time, don't do it. Your money, your choice.
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Ok la peeps. Need to go now. Azrul out!
3 comments:
exactly. these MNCs will never go bankrupt. they wud feel a slight pinch, but no major worries. the laying off of staff tu is a possibility, albeit a low one. but it *could* happen, u never know. another possibility is the decrease in raw material purchases from our local suppliers due to lower demands etc. it's a cascading effect.
what i get from this is that it's your own niat. if u want to boycott bcos u think u can help the ppl in gaza, then by all means. but by not joining the boycott, doesnt mean that we support the killings. we just eat mcd, kfc, dominos etc and drink coke cos we just wanna eat & drink for lunch or dinner. niat kita nak makan, itu saja. dont say that by purchasing from these so-called american/jewish brands is equivalent to us throwing a hand grenade at those poor souls...
zid > betul tu beb, what counts is your niat. So dont worry about other people's perception. Just do whatever you think is right.
btw, just for your info zid, we are currently importing agricultural raw material more than we actually exporting. So it's a deficit trade. we aim to achieve trade surplus in 2010. So i think at the moment, the farmers can sleep well at night. no worries.
It's not only us Muslim Malaysians boycottting the Us and Jews related product. Plus, even the non muslim in european countries done it without a wide media coverage. And it is successful; the only thing that u said it will not succeed is because u did not get enough info on the matter. The boycott should stand, just keep going as part of our struggle in fighting the Kuffar, although not all we can cope. try to do our best and be confident in Him..
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