Petaling Jaya: A Chinese Muslim restaurant in Kuala Lumpur has come under fire from social media users for terminating an employee after a video of the man wearing a cross at work went viral on the ‘X’ platform.
The Bukit Bintang store’s halal Chinese-style beef-filled buns caused outrage after a customer recorded how long they were willing to wait in line to buy them. However, it became problematic when a staff member in a songkok was spotted wearing a cross necklace around his neck.
The TikTok claimed that the employee’s termination was the wrong decision stating, “The halal status of the food served is unaffected by wearing a cross.”
However, Sofia, the restaurant’s 27-year-old manager, verified that the aforementioned employee had been fired and was no longer working there.
Correspondingly, she also expressed her regret to anyone who had watched the viral video and felt uneasy or disturbed.
According to NST, the owner acknowledged that the management made a mistake by failing to investigate the former employee’s background in detail.
Pointing out that the management had pledged to exercise greater caution in order to avoid missing anything that might have an impact on the reactions of Muslims in this country.
She stated, “I acknowledge that the management made a mistake by failing to conduct a thorough background investigation on our former employee.”
Pointing out that because the majority of the restaurant’s customers are Muslims, the management places a high value on keeping the establishment’s halal certification.
Additionally, that “Management fired the former employee due to his religion before they even knew the video went viral.”
In spite of this, the non-Muslim employee received a great deal of support from the post’s comments. Another commenter also added the verse from the Quran, “To you your religion, to me mine”.
This was followed by a viewer saying, “This really is terrible.” “I feel sorry for him.” Another user also commented, “The man might file a religious discrimination lawsuit against his former employer.”
