PETALING JAYA, Feb 18 — A manager at a McDonald’s outlet in Seremban has come under fire for discriminating against a dyslexic staff member.
The incident was shared on Facebook by Muhammad Hanis, whose brother Aniq Ashraf works at the Forest Heights branch in Senawang.
Aniq is a Person with Disabilities (PwD) who has dyslexia, a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading and writing – the condition causes the person to scramble up words as well as read them backwards.
The lifelong condition can have a debilitating impact on a person’s everyday life which is why Aniq’s father has to help him check his work schedule and send him to work.
The Facebook post details that Aniq was questioned by the manager for failing to turn up at work last Sunday morning.
The manager who sent the roster out at 1am, a mere eight hours before Aniq’s shift, did not use his name but chose to identify him with his employee ID instead.
It is important to note that other staff on the list were identified by their names.
In a WhatsApp group chat exchange, their father told the manager that his son’s name is Aniq and not a series of numbers only to receive a response that denigrated a staff member with learning disabilities.
“If you’re human and not a number, make sure my lobby is clean and organised, and not leave the sweeper outside,” the manager wrote.
“Human beings listen and understand instructions, while numbers don’t. Numbers are slightly stupid.”
Aniq’s brother lashed out at the manager for his lack of empathy and said in the post that no one from the management team apologised nor consoled him over the inappropriate remarks.
The incident has since made the rounds on social media, drawing the ire of Malaysians who are urging McDonald’s Malaysia to take action against the manager.
McDonald’s Malaysia has since responded to the incident in an official statement, saying that the fast food chain conducted an immediate and thorough internal investigation to address the matter.
“We are able to confirm that the behaviour of the specific restaurant manager was unacceptable and in violation of our McDonald’s policy on diversity and inclusion,” the statement said.
“Appropriate action will be taken against the individual.”
McDonald’s Malaysia also reached out to Aniq’s family to apologise for the incident and acknowledged him as a valuable team member.
“The said crew member is a valued member of staff who has been with McDonald’s for four years.”
The story which gained 14,000 shares on Facebook sheds light on workplace discrimination that PwDs face in the country.
Earlier this week Malaysian coffee chain Zus Coffee issued a statement to address accusations by a deaf job seeker who was turned away by a recruiter after revealing his disability.
