Nine pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken, in your choice of original recipe or hot and spicy, for RM36 (S$10.34).

If that sounds like a good deal to you, you are not alone.

Unfortunately, the deal was in Malaysia.

Several KFC outlets in Malaysia received so many orders that they completely ran out of chicken, Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News reported, and is probably the best business that the Malaysia franchise has had in a while.

Being boycotted

The brand has recently fallen on hard times, shuttering 108 stores across Malaysia in response to "challenging economic conditions" while being economically boycotted due to the ongoing war in Gaza.

Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, activists have been calling for multinational brands, such as McDonalds and Starbucks, to be boycotted globally as part of the Palestinian-led movement named "Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions" (BDS).

These brands are accused of supporting and/ or having links to Israel, and the activists hope the boycott would pressure Israel to stop its ground offensive in Gaza.

108 outlets closed

KFC is one of the brands that is being boycotted in Malaysia in relation to the war in Gaza.

Malaysian Chinese daily Nanyang Siau Pau in an Apr. 27 report linked the shuttering of KFC outlets across Malaysia to the boycotts.

However, QSR Brands, which owns and operates KFC in Malaysia, as well as Singapore, Brunei, and Cambodia, clarified in a statement on Apr. 29 that the 108 outlets were temporarily closed to manage increasing business costs and focus on outlets with higher traffic.

Based on information from Google Maps, Nanyang Siau Pau reported that the temporary closure impacted stores across Malaysia, where Kelantan had the most number of stores affected.

Nanyang Siau Pau reported that as many as 21 outlets, nearly 80 per cent of the stores in the state, were affected.

Moving away from Israel

BDS Malaysia chairman Mohd Nazari Ismail said while KFC is not on the list of BDS targeted companies, many Malaysians associate American fast-food operators such as KFC with Israel, CNA quoted Malaysian media reporting.

Amid the boycott, QSR Brands has attempted to move away from Israel and move closer to Malaysia, in particular Malaysian Muslims.

It said in its Apr. 29 statement that it has served Malaysians for over 50 years and contributed "positively" to the Malaysian community and economy.

It added that it has 18,000 staff in Malaysia, of which around 85 per cent are Muslims.

"QSR Brands continue to be among the largest taxpayers in Malaysia and take pride in being able to give back to the community."

It has also shifted its branding strategy, displaying signs in KFC outlets in Malaysia emphasising that it is owned by Johor Corporation, which belongs to the Johor state government.

Slashed prices

In one of its latest attempts to put itself in a better position economically and/ or amongst Malaysians, KFC have slashed its prices on menu items as part of its Jimat Hari-Hari (Malay for save every day) and subsequently Mother's Day deals.

For three days only, the Mother's Day deal allowed Malaysians to purchase nine pieces of chicken for RM36 (S$10.34) from May 10 to 12.

This drew an overwhelming response from Malaysians, so much so that several KFC outlets in the country completely ran out of chicken.

Some customers were reportedly told to return the next day to collect their order, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Other customers reportedly queued at the store on the last day of the promotion on May 12, with one apparently queuing for four-and-a-half hours.

On May 15, KFC Malaysia announced that it is offering a one-for-one over-the-counter exchange for chicken pieces that customers had purchased but consider "unsatisfactorily small".

This came after consumers complained about the size of KFC's chicken pieces, BFM News wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

One condition for the exchange is that the chicken must not be eaten or bitten into.

More than 35,000 dead

Around 35,272 individuals have died, with another 79,205 injured since Oct. 7, Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run in part by Hamas, reported on May 16, 2024.

Reuters reported that Gaza's health ministry also answers to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority reportedly still pays the salaries of those hired in public departments before Hamas took over in 2007.

The United Nations (UN) and World Health Organisation (WHO) have said that the Gaza Health Ministry's overall death toll is reliable, The Guardian reported, despite criticism from Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz on May 13, 2024.

Katz accused the UN on X, formerly Twitter, of relying on fake data from a terrorist organisation and "parroting … Hamas's propaganda messages."

The miraculous resurrection of the dead in Gaza.

The @UN had reduced its estimate of women and children killed in Gaza by 50% and claims that it relied on data from the Hamas Ministry of Health.

Anyone who relies on fake data from a terrorist organization in order to promote… pic.twitter.com/WbfNrB965y

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 13, 2024

Top image from Shin Min Daily News and KFC Malaysia/Facebook

---