Egg import firm threatens to sue Azmin

A company that was given permission to import eggs from India to Malaysia is threatening to sue former Gombak MP Azmin Ali over a speech the latter made about the business.

This comes after Azmin (above) claimed on Saturday that controversial businessperson Deepak Jaikishan was given a contract for egg imports via direct negotiation and was exempted from food safety checks.

Responding to the speech, J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd - the sole importer of eggs from India - denied Azmin's allegations regarding the direct negotiation and food safety exemptions.

“J&E was never awarded any direct negotiations by the government nor did J&E ever sell nor offer to sell the eggs imported from India to the government or any relevant government agency or GLCS.

“Azmin's statement is a blatant lie designed to confuse the general public in order to deflect the criminal case filed against his party president Muhyiddin Yassin,” the firm said in a statement today.

Instead, the company said it had requested permission from the government to import eggs from India to address a severe shortage in the market and was given a temporary approval effective until June 2023.

It added that the eggs imported are scrutinised by both the Veterinary Services Department and the Indian government, and is subject to inspection by the Malaysian Quarantine Inspection Services Department (Maqis).

J&E has given Azmin 72 hours from today to make a “corrective statement” to the company as well as on social media, or be sued.

Azmin during his speech on Saturday night did not name J&E and focused his allegations squarely on Deepak.

Deepak not a shareholder

The company made no mention of the purported Deepak connection in today's statement.

Checks on J&E's company information with the Companies Commission found that Deepak was not listed as a shareholder or director in the firm.

Azmin during his speech also alleged that Deepak had followed Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu on a visit to India recently.

Photos of the duo and MIC deputy president M Saravanan, purportedly from this trip, had been reportedly been published by a blog and had been recirculated by news portal MalaysiaNow on Friday.

On Feb 28, Mohamad reportedly said only one company had been given permission to import eggs from India, a move that was taken as part of the government’s efforts to address a shortage of the product.

Previously, J&E had also issued a letter of demand to Ayer Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong, who had been vocal about the cost and quality of eggs imported from India in the Dewan Rakyat.

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