MEDIA STATEMENT ON OFFENSIVE AND DISCRIMINATIVE ADVERTISEMENT BY OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE FRANCHISEE
A franchisee of Old Town White Coffee recently issued an offensive recruitment advertisement for its Johor Bahru outlet where it stated that the company preferred Malays and Chinese job applicants. This act is discriminatory in nature and is unacceptable as Malaysia is a multi-racial country and any opportunity for employment should be fair, equal and never racial-based.
Although the statements of apology from Old Town White Coffee Malaysia and Paramount Grand Success Sdn Bhd, the franchisee, are appreciated, the fact that such intention of preferential treatment according to race arises in the first place is very troubling. If it werenäó»t for the observant and concerned netizens, this discriminating act would have continued without notice.
Perhaps it is forgotten that we have a fundamental right protected under the Federal Constitution to be employed without being discriminated based on race, religion, place of birth or gender. However, discrimination is still happening against non-Malays in the public sector and against the non-Chinese within the private sector. Hence, there is a crucial need to relook at racial discrimination in the country as a whole.
In order to achieve this, all communities must rally together and be prepared for an honest discussion if we want to formulate a just and fair policy for all Malaysians. We must be able to look at the broader perspective with the objective promote and ensure harmonious living and equal opportunities for all.
