Egg importer issues Wee letter of demand over ‘misleading’ remarks

 

At the Dewan Rakyat last week, Wee Ka Siong produced an egg imported from India, a locally produced egg, and an omega egg to compare their sizes and prices.

PETALING JAYA: An egg importer has issued Ayer Hitam MP Wee Ka Siong a letter of demand after claiming the MCA president had produced “misleading, misinformed and mischievous” statements on imported eggs from India.

In the letter of demand posted on Wee’s Facebook page, lawyer S Ravichandaran said his client, J&E Advance Tech Sdn Bhd, faced losses and a tarnished reputation as a result of the MP’s “unwarranted statements”.

Wee, who has frequently raised the issue of egg supply in the country, last week produced an egg imported from India, a locally produced egg, and an omega egg to compare their sizes and prices in the Dewan Rakyat.

Ravichandaran claimed that Wee used his parliamentary privilege to state that it took four to five weeks to import eggs via sea passage and claimed that imported eggs appeared to be smaller and of lower quality.

“Viewed in totality, your statement to Parliament, the media, and on social media platforms appear to be motivated by the sheer design to champion and/or advance the interest of poultry farmers in your constituency without regard to the poultry farmers in other parts of the country,” said Ravichandaran in the letter dated Feb 23.

“We are further instructed to demand … that 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 imported eggs is disseminated by you as a responsible elected parliamentarian.”

In response, Wee said that he “vehemently denies” making any mischievous or unwanted allegations on the matter, adding that the shortage of eggs was an issue of national interest and affected poultry farmers in Malaysia.

“Further, I have no knowledge of your client’s interest at all, and my statement is made against the decision of the (agriculture and food security) ministry to import eggs in order to solve the issue of a shortage of eggs in Malaysia,” said Wee in his reply, which was also posted on his Facebook page.

“If your client has other information in relation to the benefits of importation of eggs from India, your client is welcome to provide that information to me. I shall act on it as a responsible parliamentarian.”

Agriculture and food security minister Mohamad Sabu previously told the Dewan Rakyat that the move to import eggs from India was a temporary measure to meet demand. - FMT