“Embarrassed” brethren challenged rightists to boycott “English-Arabic menus only” kebab shops

DETRACTORS have taken a swipe at the rightist fraternity for fussing over the absence of Bahasa Malaysia (BM) in the Oriental Kopi menu by questioning why they are muted by the very fact that similar situation arises in so-called posh/highly-rated Middle Eastern and Arab restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

A presumable open-minded Malay foodie جعفر (@kay_77kl) led the charge by mocking his brethren for being selective by targeting the popular Malaysian Nanyang-style kopitiam chain solely in the interest of race and religion.

“ Let’s boycott the Arab Damascus, Saba, Hadramawt, Halab outlets tomorrow – all their menus don’t have BAHASA MELAYU , no NATIONAL LANGUAGE … only ENGLISH and ARABIC!!” jibed the self-proclaimed “anti-PAS and anti-Bersatu” Threader.

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Come on, usage of BAHASA MELAYU in food menus under threat!!! Boycott, boycott Arab shops with menus that don’t have BM!! Takbir (“proclaiming the greatness of God)!!!

Don’t be selective … don’t just because they’re of the same religion, one ‘ ummah’ (Muslim unity) , you people close your eyes!!!

Another Malay Threader expressed embarrassment with his brethren having harped on a seemingly petty issue.

“I’m ashamed of the mentality of people of my race. Oriental Coffee targets tourists and Mainland Chinese. Most Mainlanders can’t speak and read English,” justified Oofoof (@ooffooff9898) who was eventually slammed for portraying himself as “a si Kitol (slang for ‘lapd*g’)” of the Chinese.

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Someone is masterminding

There’s no need to put Malay language on the menu because Malays, Chinese and Indians here definitely know what Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang is.

Do you think tourists know what Nasi Lemak is? What is Rendang ? That’s why there’s an explanation above in English and Chinese.

That’s why I’m sad, ashamed and sick of the Malay mentality. Never think ahead.

Don’t you know that the Chinese market is extremely enormous? And prospect of the Chinese who come here will spend maybe more than your annual salary?

That the furore surrounding Oriental Kopi’s menu was sparked within the proximity of the Melaka state election next month (Nov 14) led one finfluencer to contend at how easy it is for “a foreign competitor to destroy Malaysian brands and businesses”.

“I wouldn’t even need to do the dirty work myself. I’d simply let Malaysians do it for me,” observed commodity trader and hospitality entrepreneur Nashreen Shah (@nashreenshah) who listed down a three-step strategy.

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Step 1: Fuel racial sentiments – Spread divisive narratives on social media and watch Malaysians turn against one another. Once racial hatred takes root, unity becomes almost impossible and people begin making decisions based on emotion rather than logic.

Step 2: Trigger boycotts – Once the division succeeds, the boycotts will follow. Businesses start losing customers, revenue declines and companies struggle to survive.

Step 3: Let the economy suffer – Here’s the irony: when these businesses collapse, it’s not just the owners who suffer. Thousands of ordinary Malaysians could lose their jobs, including the very people who participated in the boycotts.

This is when self-proclaimed realist Zolkifli Raksyid (@sircarloz) seconded: “To ensure this strategy works, you need a major ingredient. Masses of insecure and gullible dumba*ses with access to internet and social media platforms.”

As the rightist fraternity finds more loophole to undermine the public listed Oriental Kopi by even targeting its purported “racist” job hiring process (of seemingly not preferring Indians to join its workforce), some detractors sarcastically welcomed rightists to boycott the F&B (food & beverage) chain.

“O all Malays, let’s boycott Oriental Kopi for the sake of national and religious dignity. So people like me don’t have to queue till kingdom come,” trumpeted self-proclaimed “drams queen” A M E L i A (@xoxoameliamo).

A similar reverse psychology was applied by Alter Ego (@alterego_diary): “All Melayu (Malays), please boikot [sic] Oriental Kopi so next time I don’t have to queue Thank you my Malay friends.”

At the end of the day, enterprising Threader Yeoh Khai Loon (@klyeoh88) came out with a constrictive preposition for the rightist fraternity: “Rather than boycott, why not build a F&B empire yourself that is so powerful that will bring Oriental Kopi to its knees”.

Clean competition. That should be the way for it. But oh wait. There is one. Maybe Cili Kampung (Malay-styled restaurant chain) can do the job. We haven’t forgotten about that yet.

And don’t forget what happened to the MARA Digital Mall and the Malakat Mall. – Oct 15, 2026

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The post “Embarrassed” brethren challenged rightists to boycott “English-Arabic menus only” kebab shops first appeared on Focus Malaysia .