Convenience store in Malaysia draws criticism for sign saying only Malays can buy rice
Convenience store chain 99 Speedmart in Malaysia recently sparked controversy after a sign stating that only Malays could purchase local white rice was photographed at one of its outlets.
Placed above bags of rice, the crude notice read “For Malay Only — Local Rice” and was shared by a netizen on Xiaohongshu.
The post quickly went viral, igniting a heated discussion.
Source: Xiaohongshu via China Press
The user who posted the image also sent it to 99 Speedmart to seek an explanation.
Convenience store suspects sign is act of sabotage
In response, 99 Speedmart clarified that it did not issue such a regulation.
“We are concerned that this may be a case of sabotage at one of our branches. As a precaution, we will be filing a police report regarding this issue,” the company stated.
Source: Xiaohongshu via China Press
The company also urged customers with any relevant information to come forward to assist in the investigation.
Additionally, 99 Speedmart confirmed it would conduct checks at all its branches to ensure no other locations have been subjected to similar acts.
Only Malaysians can purchase local white rice
The chain clarified that, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s guidelines, local white rice can only be sold to Malaysian citizens, with each customer limited to purchasing two packs.
A netizen, claiming to be a 99 Speedmart employee, responded to the original post, explaining that the notice had been incorrectly written by a staff member at the branch.
They added that the sign was intended to indicate that local white rice was only for sale to Malaysians, but the word “Malay” was mistakenly used instead.
The original Xiaohongshu post has since been removed.
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Featured image adapted from China Press and 99 Speedmart, for illustration purposes only.
