Wee gets 'egged' with lawyer letter after Dewan Rakyat debate

Ayer Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong has received a lawyer’s letter from a local importer of eggs from India following remarks he made in the Dewan Rakyat last week.

At the time, the MCA president brought three different types of eggs to the august House – an egg from India, an Omega egg, and a local egg – to supplement his arguments by comparing their sizes and prices.

“As a member of the Dewan Rakyat, I was only carrying out my duty to raise issues involving the country’s interests.

“I have never mentioned any companies or individuals in my debates in the Dewan Rakyat. But they have sent a lawyer’s letter to me, so I replied to the letter,” Wee said today in a Facebook post.

The social media post included screenshots of the letter and his response.

In his speech in Parliament, he claimed the egg from India was bought for 50 sen despite being smaller in size while the locally produced egg was price-controlled at 45 sen.

He also urged Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu to quickly resolve the issue of local egg supply so there will be no shortage during the coming Ramadan and Aidilfitri periods.

Mohamad previously said the importation of eggs from India is only a temporary measure until local supplies stabilise.

The lawyer’s letter, dated Feb 23, read that as a local egg importer, they felt compelled to correct Wee’s “misleading, misinformed, and mischievous” statements.

In making such remarks, they claimed the MP was oblivious to the need to cater for domestic consumption while focusing on profits.

They also claimed his statements caused losses and tarnished their reputation.

As such, the importer demanded that Wee publishes a statement reflecting the “true and accurate prevailing conditions as to the current market conditions which necessitate the import of eggs and the actual retail price of the imported eggs”.

‘National interest’

In response, Wee vehemently denied making any mischievous or “unwanted allegations”.

“The issue raised is of national interest involving not only the farmers in my constituency but all farmers in Malaysia at large,” he said in his reply letter.

He added that he has no knowledge of the importer’s interests and his statement was specifically against the decision of the ministry to import eggs to solve the issue of egg shortage in the country.

He also welcomed the importer to provide any information they may have in relation to the benefits of importation of eggs from India and he will act upon it responsibly.

Egg subsidy will continue until June at a cost of RM1.28 billion

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