Posts about Ikea ‘shutting down’ in Malaysia misrepresent store’s one-day early closure

A news report about Ikea closing several of its Malaysian stores early for a day has been shared in posts by supporters of the country’s opposition misleadingly claiming the furniture giant was “pulling out” of the market entirely. In fact, the article quoted an Ikea Malaysia social media post that said it was closing early to celebrate its staff and made no mention of shutting down operations in Malaysia.

“Investors keep pulling out due to a weakening ringgit and the cost of living keeps rising. Foreign investors are losing confidence in the prime minister of Malaysia,” reads Malay-language sticker text over a screenshot of a news report shared on TikTok on February 25.

The article’s headline reads “Ikea in Malaysia announces it is closing early this Wednesday”.

A smaller image with text calling on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step down was also inserted into the image. The post includes hashtags reading “failed government” and “Perikatan Nasional”, the main opposition alliance in Malaysia.

Though Malaysia’s economy grew in 2024, concerns about the economy and cost of living continue to plague Anwar, who recently drew criticism for his frequent travel abroad while neglecting domestic issues (archived link).

The same image also spread on TikTok here and here, where it was reshared more than 2,000 times.

While some users left comments pointing out the headline said the early closure was only for one day, others appeared to believe the claim.

“Overseas trips to 31 countries. Spending 44 million ringgit within a year. Suddenly IKEA that has existed all along shuts down,” read one comment, referencing the prime minister’s trips abroad.

Another said: “Oh my … even Ikea had to close.”

However, as of March 7, there are no credible reports that Ikea would pull out of Malaysia permanently (archived link).

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the article was published by online news portal Malaysia Dateline on February 24 (archived link).

The report, citing a social media post by Ikea, said its stores in the Klang Valley — a metropolitan area covering the capital Kuala Lumpur and other surrounding cities — would close early on February 26 to celebrate its staff.

The article makes no mention of the furniture giant “pulling investments” from Malaysia.

Ikea Malaysia posted the announcement on its official Facebook page on February 24, saying it would close its Klang Valley stores at 6pm on February 26 (archived link).