McDonald’s Video About M’sians Working in S’pore During Ramadan Won the Internet

By
Aveyn Toh
-

I’m not crying, you are!

…those dratted ninjas cutting onions where you can’t see them!

An emotional tale of two countries

McDonald’s have recently released a touching video depicting the story of Samsuri, a young Malaysian man working as a McD delivery rider in Singapore in promotion of its My Happy Table initiative.

In the story, Samsuri who said he was supposed to only be working in Singapore for 2 weeks, ended up having to stay in the country for more than a year due to COVID-19 measures and the need to provide for his family.

Due to the pandemic, he has had to make many difficult choices throughout the year – to choose between earning a living to support his family or to help the family out when they needed him the most, such as when their house flooded or when his father suffered a stroke.

During Ramadan, this feeling of familial loss hits the poor man even harder as he used to break fast (buka puasa) with his family at the same table; a family that’s a border away from him.

Note that the Singapore-Malaysia border has been closed for more than a year now.

Although crossing is still possible, the difficulty, ranging from the compulsory 2-week quarantines on both sides of the border as well as the cost, deterred many from doing so.

Common for Malaysians working in Singapore

This story isn’t exactly uncommon among the many Malaysians who are working in Singapore but have families back in their respective hometowns, especially those who used to travel between the two countries every day.

In fact, the video would also resonate with many Malaysians currently stuck in different states for work and who haven’t seen their families for months, or even a year, since interstate travel in the country is still strictly prohibited.

This feeling would likely hit even harder especially during festive seasons where family gatherings are common, like Chinese New Year back in February, Ramadan right now, and the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

An outpouring of empathy

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by McDonald’s Singapore (@mcdsg)

Just from the responses alone, you can see that many netizens feel for the Malaysian McDonald’s workers in the video, with many asking the Malaysian “abang-abang” (brothers) and “kakak-kakak” (sisters) to “stay strong”.

The “My Happy Table” Initiative

Although not much information has been revealed about McDonald’s My Happy Table initiative, it seems like the company is trying to let its stranded Malaysian employees break fast with their families back home through the magic of technology, or specifically a combination of several technologies.

PR move aside, it’s truly great to see a company making an effort to do something to help connect their employees with their loved ones during the holy month.

And of course, from all of us at Goody Feed, Happy Ramadan Mubarak to our Muslim readers and friends out there!

Featured Image: Youtube (McDonald’s Singapore)

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Aveyn Toh
Email: [email protected]