A news report about IKEA’s early closure of several of its Malaysian stores for a day has been shared among supporters of the country’s opposition, misleading claims that the furniture giant has completely “removed” the market. In fact, the article quotes IKEA’s Malaysian social media post that said it celebrates its employees’ early closure without mentioning closing operations in Malaysia.
Malay language sticker text in a news report shared on Tiktok on February 25, Malay language sticker text in a screenshot shared on February 25 on February 25 on February 25 on Tiktok: “Investors keep withdrawing due to ringgit’s weakness.
The title of the article reads “IKEA, Malaysia, announced that it will be closed starting this Wednesday”.
Smaller images were also inserted into the image calling on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step down. The post includes reading the hashtags of “Government Failure” and “Perikatan nasional”, the main opposition coalition in Malaysia.
Screenshot of fake posts, taken on March 7, 2025
Despite the growth of Malaysia’s economy in 2024, concerns over the economy and the cost of living continue to plague Anwar, who has recently been criticized for frequently traveling abroad for ignoring domestic issues (archived link).
The same images are also scattered here and here on Tiktok, where over 2,000 re-investigations have been conducted.
While some users left comments pointing to the title saying that early closures were only one day, others seem to believe the claim.
“Overseas travel to 31 countries. It cost 44 million ringgit in a year. Suddenly, IKEA has been there.” One commented, referring to the Prime Minister’s trip abroad.
Another said, “Oh, my…even IKEA had to close.”
However, as of March 7, there is no reliable report that IKEA will permanently withdraw from Malaysia (archived link).
On Google, a combination of reverse image and keyword search found the article was published on February 24 by online news portal Malaysia Dateline (archive link).
The report quoted a social media post from IKEA, which he said its stores in the Cran Valley – covering the Kuala Lupus capital, Louper and other metropolitan areas around the city – will be closed earlier on February 26 to celebrate its employees.
The article does not mention the “pull investment” of Malaysian furniture giants.
IKEA Malaysia posted the news on its official Facebook page on February 24, saying it will close its Klang Valley store at 6pm on February 26 (archive link).
Screenshot of IKEA Malaysia on Facebook
