Perlis customs director Ismail Hashim said a scan at the road trade unit of the immigration, customers, quarantine and security complex revealed that the container bore the logo of ZIM, a shipping company based in Israel.

In a statement, Ismail said checks with other government agencies confirmed that the container was owned by a company based in Israel and therefore prohibited from entering Malaysia.

“We immediately instructed the driver of the container truck to turn back to the neighbouring country,” he said. The truck left at noon.

Last Sunday, deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called for urgent investigations into claims that a ZIM vessel had docked at the Iskandar Puteri port in Johor.

He said that Malaysia strictly adheres to its policy of having no diplomatic ties or trade agreements with the Zionist regime.