KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 (Bernama) -- Egg importer J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd has lost its defamation suit against Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali over his statements alleging that the company had obtained a contract through direct negotiation with the government to import eggs from India.
Dismissing the suit, High Court Judge Leong Wai Hong ruled that the politician had repeatedly mentioned businessman Deepak Jaikishan’s name but did not refer to the company by name.
“Deepak did not hold any position in the said company. He was not a director or shareholder of the company. "I therefore hold the plaintiff (company) accountable, as it failed to prove that the impugned statements referred to it.
“Further, applying the test, I’m of the view it will be unreasonable for any person to believe the plaintiff was mentioned in the impugned statement, as this is not a case when no one was mentioned in the impugned statement.
“The defendant had expressly mentioned Deepak, not once but many times,” he said, ordering the company to pay RM50,000 costs to Azmin.
On May 13, Deepak, 52, testified that Mohamed Azmin’s political talk on March 11 last year, about him being friends with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, wife of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, and repeatedly mentioning the word "telur" (egg), were personally defamatory.
On April 12, 2023, the egg-importing company filed a lawsuit against Mohamed Azmin, accusing him of falsely alleging that the company secured a government contract through direct negotiations to import eggs from India.
The company claimed that the defendant (Mohamed Azmin) had defamed the company in a political talk, titled “Ceramah Perdana: Solidariti Menentang Kezaliman” at Taman Melewar, Gombak on March 11 last year and his words were published by the print and electronic media, including YouTube.
The company stated that although its name was not directly mentioned in the speech, it was clear that J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd was being referred to, as it was the only Malaysian company authorised to import eggs from India, a fact announced by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu during a Parliament session on March 8 of the same year.
It added that Mohamed Azmin’s claims were untrue as the company had never been involved, and was not linked to any direct negotiations with the Malaysian government.