Azmin’s speech was dark and nasty, defamed me and my brother, says witness

KUALA LUMPUR: The statements made by Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali were “Dark and nasty”, said a witness in the defamation suit filed by egg importing company J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd against the former minister.

Businessman Deepak Jaikishan, 52, said Azmin’s statements at a political talk on March 11 last year about him being friends with Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and repeatedly mentioning the word “telur” (egg) were personally defamatory to him.

“Azmin clearly defamed me in a very dark and nasty manner, associating my brother and his company (J&E Advance Tech) with this. He used me as a tool to entice the audience, and the way he lied to justify his speech was a very nasty act.

“The speech defamed me and my brother. It ruined my brother’s and his wife’s efforts in business. I saw the damage with my own eyes.

“That was the nasty part,” said Deepak when testifying as a subpoenaed witness in the suit heard before Judicial Commissioner Leong Wai Hong on Monday (May 13).

Deepak also said Azmin’s insinuation that J&E Advance Tech had secured the egg import permit because of his friendship with Rosmah was fowl, reported BK.

“(When Azmin said) ‘kawan Rosmah’…(it was) nasty…She is not my friend,” he said during cross-examination by Azmin’s counsel, Muhammad Nizamuddin Abdul Hamid.

Earlier, Deepak’s younger brother Rajesh Jaikishan, who is J&E Advance Tech’s general manager, testified that Azmin’s claims were not true as there was no direct negotiation with the government to obtain the licence to import eggs.

“An application was made to the Veterinary Services Department transparently.

“We went through a very tedious process of sourcing the eggs from India and going through all the regulatory requirements from the Indian export agency, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, and the Quarantine and Inspection Services Department for the approval,” he said.

The hearing will resume on Friday (May 17), and Azmin is expected to take the stand.

J&E Advance Tech filed the lawsuit against Azmin on April 12, 2013 for alleging that the company obtained a contract through direct negotiation with the government to import eggs from India.

The company claimed that Azmin had defamed the company in a political talk titled “Ceramah Perdana: Solidariti Menentang Kezaliman” in Taman Melewar, Gombak, on March 11 2013, and his words were published by the print and electronic media, including on YouTube.

According to the company, even though its name was not mentioned in the speech, J&E Advance Tech was implied as it was the only Malaysian company allowed to import eggs from India, as announced by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu during a Parliament session on March 8 last year.

It said Azmin’s claims were untrue as the company had never been involved in and had no links to any direct government negotiations – BK